Kazakhstan Daily News Roundup - November 24, 2009

HEADLINES:

Temir bank defaults on debt; seeks restructuring
(SRI) - Temirbank, Kazakhstan’s tenth largest bank, has defaulted on its debt and became the fourth Kazakh lender to seek restructuring this year, the bank said in a statement on Monday.

FSA orders Astana Finance to cut stakes in subsidiaries
(SRI) - Kazakhstan’s Financial Supervision Agency (FSA) has ordered Astana Finance to decrease its stakes in its banking and insurance subsidiaries until it reaches a restructuring deal and boosts its regulatory capital.

Russia and Kazakhstan sign agreements on oil and power transit
(SRI) - Russia and Kazakhstan have concluded agreements on oil transit and the parallel operation of the two countries’ power grids, according to media reports. The deals were signed November 20 by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and his Kazakh counterpart Sauat Mynbayev.

ENERGY:

Russia, Kazakhstan in talks on Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline (Interfax)

IBC, Kazatomprom advance talks on strategic nuclear energy initiatives (Oil Week)

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

BTA Bank seeks early loan payments amid fight with ex-managers
(Bloomberg) - BTA Bank, the largest Kazakh lender to default this year, has asked borrowers to repay billions of dollars ahead of schedule as it struggles to collect on loans made by previous management.

Kazakh central bank to consider rate cuts in Q1 2010 - deputy chairman (Reuters)

Kazakh credit risk drops most in world as oil revives economy (Bloomberg)

Kazakhstan economy may grow 3 percent in 2010 - Minister of Finance (Reuters - Forbes)

Kazakh PM sees GDP growth; seeking foreign investment (Dow Jones)

Kazakhstan, China discussed listing of Kazakhstan companies on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Kazakhstan Today)

Sturgeon Capital moves to Malta (Malta Independent)

National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates November 24, 2009 (Kazinform)

Indicators - November 23, 2009 (Reuters)

MINERAL RESOURCES:

SSGPO to ship 6.7 million tons of iron ore to China in 2009 (Interfax)

POLITICS:

Uzbekistan closes border with Kazakhstan (Reuters)

Kazakhstan to allocate $50 million to train Afghan specialists (RIA Novosti)

Kazakh president to visit Belarus (TREND)

SOCIETY:

Kazakhs pledge $22 million for Astana cycling team (AP)

Kazakhstan climbs 25 points in corruption perception ranking - Transparency International (Interfax)

Kazakh special services deny arrest of “uranium case” investigation team (Interfax)

Dialogue between Kazakh authorities and NGOs guarantee of stability - First Vice Prime Minister (Interfax)

REGIONAL:

Untapped energy riches of Uzbekistan (Stockhouse)

Azerbaijan threatens force over Nagorno-Karabakh (AP)

U.S. legislators launch congressional caucus on Central Asia (EurasiaNet)

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Call for papers: OGEL special issue on “Kazakhstan Energy”
Oil, Gas and Energy Law Intelligence (www.ogel.org) invites submissions for a Special issue covering energy issues in Kazakhstan. The guest editor for this special issue is GRATA Law Firm. See http://www.ogel.org/news.asp?key=198 for more details.

Kazakhstan Mineral Resources Roundup - November 24, 2009

SSGPO to ship 6.7 million tons of iron ore to China in 2009 (Interfax)

Kazakhstan Business and Economy Roundup - November 24, 2009

Temir bank defaults on debt; seeks restructuring (SRI)

FSA orders Astana Finance to cut stakes in subsidiaries (SRI)

BTA Bank seeks early loan payments amid fight with ex-managers (Bloomberg)

Kazakh central bank to consider rate cuts in Q1 2010 - deputy chairman (Reuters)

Kazakh credit risk drops most in world as oil revives economy (Bloomberg)

Kazakhstan economy may grow 3 percent in 2010 - Minister of Finance (Reuters - Forbes)

Kazakh PM sees GDP growth; seeking foreign investment (Dow Jones)

Kazakhstan, China discussed listing of Kazakhstan companies on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Kazakhstan Today)

Sturgeon Capital moves to Malta (Malta Independent)

National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates November 24, 2009 (Kazinform)

Indicators - November 23, 2009 (Reuters)

Kazakhstan Energy Roundup - November 24, 2009

Russia and Kazakhstan sign agreements on oil and power transit (SRI)

Russia, Kazakhstan in talks on Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline (Interfax)

IBC, Kazatomprom advance talks on strategic nuclear energy initiatives (Oil Week)

Kazakhstan Society Roundup - November 24, 2009

Kazakhs pledge $22 million for Astana cycling team (AP)

Kazakhstan climbs 25 points in corruption perception ranking - Transparency International (Interfax)

Kazakh special services deny arrest of “uranium case” investigation team (Interfax)

Dialogue between Kazakh authorities and NGOs guarantee of stability - First Vice Prime Minister (Interfax)

Kazakhs pledge $22 million for Astana cycling team

(AP) - Kazakhstan’s state sovereign fund pledged $22 million in financial backing to the Astana cycling team Friday, ensuring the squad stays alive and Tour de France champion Alberto Contador remains in its ranks.
(more…)

Kazakhstan Politics Roundup - November 24, 2009

Uzbekistan closes border with Kazakhstan (Reuters)

Kazakhstan to allocate $50 million to train Afghan specialists (RIA Novosti)

Kazakh president to visit Belarus (TREND)

Kazakhstan Regional News Roundup - November 24, 2009

Untapped energy riches of Uzbekistan (Stockhouse)

Azerbaijan threatens force over Nagorno-Karabakh (AP)

U.S. legislators launch congressional caucus on Central Asia (EurasiaNet)

Azerbaijan threatens force over Nagorno-Karabakh

(AP) - President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said Saturday his nation may resort to military force if talks with Armenia on resolving a long-standing territorial dispute produce no result.
(more…)

Untapped energy riches of Uzbekistan

(Stockhouse) - While many Western investors remain fixated on somehow acquiring a slice of Turkmenistan’s natural gas riches, despite a recent scandal over the country’s actual reserves, there is another country further east whose energy and mineralogical reserves have been overlooked – Uzbekistan.
(more…)