News: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 
Article of the Day
Kazakhs cuts 2010 GDP Forecast even as Oil Price rises
The Kazakh Economy Ministry cut its forecast for 2010 economic growth by 0.4 percentage point to 2 percent even as it said the average oil price this year will increase by $15 a barrel.
The government's official forecast last September for expansion of gross domestic product in 2010 was 2.4 percent based on an oil price of $50 a barrel. The ministry now sees oil at $65 a barrel this year, Economy Minister Bakhyt Sultanov said in an e-mailed statement today.
Economic growth in Kazakhstan, which holds 3.2 percent of the world's oil reserves according to BP Plc, slowed to 1.2 percent last year from 3.2 percent in 2008. The economy grew 10 percent on average each year between 2000 and 2007 as energy and commodity prices rose.
The Kazakh government will run a budget deficit of 803.6 billion tenge ($5.5 billion) this year, up 50.7 billion tenge from the previous forecast, Sultanov said. To help cover the deficit, the government will borrow 13.4 billion tenge domestically and 13.2 billion tenge abroad in addition to previously announced borrowing plans, he said.
In December, Sultanov said Kazakhstan may borrow as much as $1 billion from the World Bank this year to fill the budget gap.
Budget revenue
Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev said today that Kazakhstan may borrow between $500 million and $700 million abroad in the second half of 2010, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported.
Budget revenue this year will be 3.38 trillion tenge, up 189 billion tenge from the government's previous forecast. Excluding transfers from the National Oil Fund, revenue will amount to 1.75 trillion tenge.
Kazakhstan will collect an additional 61.3 billion tenge in customs duties this year after it joined a customs union with Russia and Belarus, according to the Economy Ministry. The Caspian Sea country forecasts exports of $49.6 billion and imports of $34.2 billion.
The inflation rate in 2010 will be between 6 percent and 8 percent, the ministry said, according to Bloomberg.
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Kazakhstan General
President of Romania planning Kazakhstan Visit
President of Romania, Trajan Basesku, will pay a reciprocal state visit to Kazakhstan on March 2-3, the Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
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Oil and Gas Sector
Almaty hosts Conference on Innovative Development of Oil and Gas Sector
The third international research conference, titled "The Innovative Development of the Oil and Gas Industry" opened yesterday in Almaty, organized by the Kazakh-British Technical University.
Officials from
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KazMunaiGas E&P 4Q up 28% Vs 4Q 08 on Revenue
London-listed oil and gas producer KazMunaiGas Exploration Production, or KMG E&P, said Monday its fourth-quarter net profit rose 28% on higher revenue.
Its full-year net profit fell,
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Azerbaijan extracts 50 million Tons of Oil in 2009
In 2009, Azerbaijan extracted 50.4 million tons of oil and 23.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas, in both cases more than in 2008. SOCAR President
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KazMunaiGas E&P to complete MangistauMunaigas Buy by Early 2011
London-listed oil and gas company KazMunaiGas Exploration Production, or KMG E&P, expects to complete the acquisition of 50% of MangistauMunaigas from its parent company NC KazMunaiGas
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International Petroleum sets sail for Oil Exploration in Kazakhstan
International Petroleum, previously named International Goldfields Limited has today lodged a replacement Prospectus with ASIC, which replaces the prospectus odged with ASIC on 8 February 2010.
The
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Who will come to the rescue of Troubled Nabucco?
By Kostis Geropoulos
Azerbaijan supports the Nabucco gas pipeline project, but European countries must act, not talk, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan Laytif Gandilov told New Europe
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Energy Industry
Kazakhstan developing Complex Energy Efficiency Plan to 2015
Meetings with the population of the Marken and Turar Ryskulov districts in the Zhambyl Oblast for providing explanations of the president's address to the nation have
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Finance and Investment
Kazakhstan raises 2010 Industry Output Forecast
Kazakhstan's economy ministry raised its forecast for industrial output growth this year to 3.3 percent from 3.0 percent on Monday, citing higher than expected oil prices.
The
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Kazakhstan to borrow $500-700 Million in H2 2010
Kazakhstan will borrow between $500 million and $700 million on international markets in the second half of this year, Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev said on Monday.
"It
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Kazakhstani Bankers should stay out of Politics - Nazarbayev
President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, said at the Council of Entrepreneurs that bankers in Kazakhstan should not get involved in politics, Kazakhstan Today reports.
"You are engaged
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Disputes with SMEs should be settled with Arbitration Courts
Economic disputes involving small and medium-sized enterprises should be resolved through arbitration courts, President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev said during the Council of Entrepreneurs on Friday,
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February Living Wage at KZT 12,438
Kazakhstan’s living wage on average per capita, calculated proceeding from minimum consumption norms for basic foodstuffs, in February 2010 compared with last month increased by 2.4%,
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Banks remain Cautious on Lending as Kazakhstan’s Growth returns
By Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Optimism returned to Kazakhstan when commodity prices rose last year. Sustaining the recovery will require an upturn in bank lending, but
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Regional Business News
Nicolas Sarkozy angers Allies with Proposed Warship Sales to Russia
By Lizzy Davies
Georgia Concerned as Four Mistral-Class Warships could launch Helicopters and Armored Vehicles
Nicolas Sarkozy braved the wrath of Washington last night when he confirmed that
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European Officals negotiating with Ashgabat on Nabucco
Intensive negotiations to secure Turkmen natural gas supplies for the proposed Nabucco pipeline are ongoing, a Western diplomat tells the Russian news agency Itar-Tass.
If successful a
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Quakes hit Philippines, Kyrgyzstan
Two different moderate earthquakes hit northern Philippines and Kyrgyzstan early Tuesday, international news agencies report.
The first, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, struck near Luzon (1,397km
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Uzbekistan charges 200 with plotting Alleged Coup
By Mansur Mirovalev
The government of Uzbekistan has falsely accused about 200 people of killing officials and plotting a coup in the authoritarian Central Asian nation, a
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Prices and Statistics
Volume and Share Index by Visor Capital
Date: March 2, 2010; Source: Visor Capital
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Market Movers by Visor Capital
Date: March 2, 2010; Source: Visor Capital
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Oil and Gas Prices
Date: March 2, 2010; Source: Bloomberg.com
| Petroleum
($/bbl) |
|
Price* |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| Nymex Crude Future |
78.65
|
-.05
|
-.06
|
01:28 |
| Dated Brent Spot |
75.96 |
-.40 |
-.53 |
01:31 |
| WTI Cushing Spot |
78.70 |
-.96 |
-1.21
|
03/01 |
| Petroleum
(cent/gal) |
|
Price* |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| Nymex Heating Oil Future |
202.45
|
.10
|
.05 |
01:19
|
| Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future |
215.74
|
.18 |
.08 |
00:56 |
| Natural gas
($/MMBtu) |
|
Price* |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| Nymex Henry Hub Future |
4.69 |
.02 |
.32 |
01:22 |
| Henry Hub Spot |
4.82 |
.07 |
1.47 |
03/01 |
| New York City Gate Spot |
5.27 |
.08
|
1.54 |
03/01
|
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Commodities
Date: March 2, 2010; Source: Bloomberg.com
| Commodity |
Price |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| COPPER FUTURE (USd/lb.) |
330.700 |
-4.300 |
-1.28 |
01:44 |
| GOLD 100 OZ FUTR (USD/t oz.) |
1116.700 |
-1.600 |
-0.14 |
01:44 |
| SILVER FUTURE (USD/t oz.) |
16.400 |
-0.069
|
-0.42
|
01:43 |
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Metal Prices
Date: March 2, 2010; Source: Kitco.com
| Silver |
16.39 |
-0.07 |
| Platinum |
1543.00 |
-4.00
|
| Palladium |
435.00 |
+1.00
|
| Rhodium |
2,430 |
0.00
|
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Exchange rates
Date: March 2, 2010; Source: the National Bank of Kazakhstan
| 1 USD |
KZT 147.23 |
1 CHF |
KZT 137.11 |
1 CNY |
KZT 21.57 |
1 TRY |
KZT 95.70 |
10 JPY |
KZT 1.65 |
| 1 EUR |
KZT 200.69 |
1 AUD |
KZT 132.37 |
1 KGS |
KZT 3.30 |
1 UZS |
KZT 0.10 |
|
|
| 1 GBP |
KZT 223.08 |
1 CAD |
KZT 140.07 |
1 RUB |
KZT 4.93 |
100 KRW |
KZT 12.70 |
|
|
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