News: Thursday, July 01, 2010 
Article of the Day
Customs Union takes effect today
By Yelena Kalinina, Anar Kuanyshbekova and Timur Nazarov
The Customs Union or free-trade zone between Kazakhstan and Russia takes effect today.
Kazakhstan’s entrepreneurs have prepared for tariff-free competition with Russian corporations -- but not all of them welcome the idea, according to centralasiaonline.com.
“The Russians and Belarusians will export products superior to ours. Duty-free, they will cost (less than what) we charge here”, said Amir Safarov, owner of a furniture workshop in an Almaty suburb. “What are we to do now -- go out of business?”
Originally, Belarus was supposed to join the Customs Union as well. But its entry remains in doubt because of a dispute with Russia over energy prices.
Today marks the lifting of non-tariff regulatory barriers between Kazakhstan and Russia, such as veterinary and sanitary requirements, licensing, technical regulations and customs clearance, said Zhanar Aitzhanova, Kazakhstan’s minister of economic development and trade.
The government has said it expects the Customs Union to benefit Kazakhstani businesses and consumers. Some are skeptical, however.
Gorkhmaz Allahverdiyev, a dairy plant owner from Pavlodar, said he is worried about Kazakhstan companies being able to sell products in the Russian market.
“I don’t think our produce will sell well in Russia — but the Russians, who have better equipment and technology, will have a competitive advantage in the Kazakhstani market,” he said.
Muratbai Khairushev, head of the Mangistau Oblast branch of the Independent Association of Entrepreneurs, also worries.
With the growing prices of equipment, “production will become more expensive, and so will the end product,” he said.
Yersain Alimbayev, head of the seaport division of the Mangistau Customs Control Department, disagreed. Kazakhstani businesses will have an incentive to produce better goods, while getting access to new markets, he said.
A lot of Kazakhstan products will be competitive in Russia, contended Ruslan Sultanov, general director of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade’s Trade Policy Center. Those products include “pipes, X-ray equipment, condensers, spare farm equipment parts, crankshafts, and food products,” he said.
The new trade regime will eliminate barriers that used to plague Kazakhstani exporters trying to sell to Russia, Sultanov said.
One such barrier involved rail-car transportation, according to Universal Logistics technology director Dauren Bimov.
Kazakhstan companies exporting goods to Russia could keep their rail cars on Russian soil for only 90 days, he said, and the return of the cars was strictly controlled.
In contrast, Russian rail cars were allowed to stay for three years in Kazakhstan “and haul freight in this country while awaiting profitable back orders,” he said.
The new Customs Union will impose the same 90-day limit on Russian rail cars, he said.
“Today, (Kazakhstan imports) light-industry goods without declarations, certificates or invoices and charges a customs duty amounting to 0.60 of a euro per kilogram of merchandise,” said Lyubov Khudova, president of the Light Industry Association. “With our market so open to imports, the textile industry in Kazakhstan meets only 8% of domestic demand,” she said. “We are prepared to compete and raise domestic production to the 30% level by 2014”.
Kuanyshbek Alenov, a board member of the National Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, said the Customs Union will create more choices for consumers in Kazakhstani markets, but added that businesses must adapt.
“Owners of large businesses will find it easier to work with decreased transportation costs within the Customs Union countries. Medium-sized and small businesses are not so enthusiastic, though,” he said. “To stay afloat, they will have to modernize production, enlarge the range of products, improve quality and offer new services, which is not always possible.”
In 2009, Kazakhstan’s imports from Russia accounted for 31% of the total or $8.9 billion. Imports from Belarus were only 1.3% of the total.
Kazakshstan’s exports to Russia accounted for only 8% of Russia’s total or $3.5 billion. Kazakhstan’s exports to Belarus were meager, accounting for only 0.1% of the country’s total.
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Kazakhstan General
German leader Angela Merkel to visit Astana
By Murat Zhakeyev
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Astana from July 16 to 18, Deputy Foreign Minister Konstantin Zhigalov has announced.
"A wide range of issues of
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Ex-Canadian Leader praises Nazarbayev Policies
Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has told President Nursultan Nazarbayev that the United States and the European Union “can only envy” Kazakhstan’s 8 percent economic
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‘Sisters’ – one American, one Kazakhstani
By Virginia Shank
Twenty years ago, Melissa Holmes of Howland, Ohio, was praying for her new baby sibling to be a sister.
Halfway around the world, Jannat
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Astana film festival glitters with Hollywood
By Jamila Kerimova
Timur Bekmambetov, Mike Tyson, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Hilary Swank and Sharlto Copley were some of those who have come together at the first
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Minister meets action movie star Lundgren
The Minister of Tourism of Sport has met visiting Swedish actor and karate buff Dolph Lundgren in Astana, according to caspionet.kz.
Termirkhan Dosmukhambetovalso met American boxer Mike
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The Pentagon plans Central Asian projects
By Deirdre Tynan
The Pentagon appears set to spend over $40 million on security infrastructure projects in Central Asia, according to eurasianet.org.
The money for the building
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Kazakhstan, China make Progress on Rivers Agreement
Kazakhstan and China are making progress on an agreement to protect rivers they share, Minister of Environmental Protection Nurgali Ashimov says.
The two sides, who worked on
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Oil and Gas Sector
South China Provinces to get Central Asian gas soon
By Jim Bai and Aizhu Chen
Central Asian gas will reach southern China's Jiangxi and Hunan provinces by the end of the year, thanks to new pipelines
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Tethys get Extension on Akkulka Exploration Contract
The Ministry of Oil and Gas has given Tethys Petroleum’s subsidiary TethysAralGas a two-year extension of its Akkulka exploration contract, Tethys said in a press release.
George
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Energy Industry
Mini-hydropower Plant is on Line
A new mini-hydropower plant on the Karatal River has begun generating electricity, according to caspionet.kz.
Karatal Plant Number 4 will produce 3.5 megawatts of power a year.
It
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Electricity production jumps
By Kanat Kulshmanov
Kazakhstan is expected to produce about 83 billion kilowatt hours of electricity this year, a government official says.
That compares with forecasts last year of
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Finance and Investment
Asian Development Bank deputy updates Nazarbayev
The Asian Development Bank is financing $1 billion worth of highway construction and projects to help small and medium-sized businesses in Kazakhstan, its vice president says.
Xiaoyu
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Halyk in Talks to buy back shares from government
Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s second-largest lender, plans to buy back shares from the government at below-market price, the bank’s chief executive says.
“The price will not be tied
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Temirbank completes Restructuring
Temirbank has announced that it has completed all steps needed to restructure.
The key steps were distributing assets to those entitled to restructuring-related payments.
Two approvals are needed
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Moody's assigns B1 rating to Eurasian Bank bond issue
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a B1 rating to a tenge-denominated Eurasian Bank bond issue.
In assigning the rating, Moody’s noted that the bonds are unsecured.
Eurasian
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Metals and Minerals
KazakhGold Group to Buy Its Controlling Shareholder
By Amanda Jordan and Thomas Biesheuvel
KazakhGold Group Ltd. will take over its parent OAO Polyus Gold in a $9.4 billion deal, creating the largest producer
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Rio Tinto signs agreement on mining in Kazakhstan
By Raushan Nurshayeva
The Australian-based international mining giant Rio Tinto will join government-owned Tau-Ken Samruk in exploring for minerals in Kazakhstan, Reuters reports.
Rio Tinto signed a joint-venture
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Ivanhoe says Kyzyl Gold Estimates are on Target
Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines says a feasibility study confirms that the Kyzyl mine it is helping modernize in Kazakhstan will be able to produce 368,000 ounces of
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Kazakhstan’s Uranium-Output Surge keeps Prices Down
By Paula Wallace
Kazakhstan’s growing uranium production is expected to keep a lid on prices of the metal for some time, according to the research firm Resource
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Nazarbayev says much mining waste is toxic
More than a third, or 7 million tons, of Kazakhstan’s 20 billion tons of mining and metals-processing waste is toxic, according to President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
"It cannot
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Mining, metals output to double, Nazarbayev says
Mining and metals-processing production will double by 2015, according to President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Steel production, which ArcelorMittal dominates, will jump to 10 million tons a year from
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Trade and Consumer Goods
Nazarbayev signs Customs Code
President Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed a Customs Code – the set of rules under which the three members of the Customs Union will implement their free-trade
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Communications and Transportation
General Aviation Industry in the Offing
President Nursultan Nazarbayev is expected to sign legislation soon that will lead to the development of a general-aviation industry in Kazakhstan, caspionet.kz reports.
In other countries the
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Kazakhstan’s First Ship-Repair Facility opens
By Anargul Tolegenova
Kazakhstan’s first ship-repair facility has opened at the Caspian Sea port of Bautino in Mangystau Oblast, according to kazinform.kz.
A lot of the work at
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Regional Business News
Russian oil firm interested in BP assets
Russia's TNK-BP Holding is interested in acquiring BP assets offshore and in Europe, Deputy CEO Maxim Barsky says.
Barsky said T NK-BP is interested in acquiring "assets
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Cypriot Police say Russian Spy Suspect vanished
By Menelaos Hadjicostis
Police in the Cypriot city of Larnaca began searching late Wednesday for an alleged Russian spy wanted in the United States who vanished after
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Despite Arrests, Obama Works to Rebuild Russia Ties
By Peter Baker
The roundup of a suspected Russian spy ring did more than disrupt a years-old deep-cover operation inside the United States — it cast a
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Uzbeks plead for Help after Return to Kyrgyzstan
By Simon Shuster
A simple plea is scrawled in meter-high letters across the charred remains of homes in the Kyrgyz city of Osh that were torched in
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Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport expanding
The big east-west connector Istanbul Atatürk is about to open a new runway, according to hurriyetdailynews.com
Atatürk Airport is already the biggest transfer center in the region.
A
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Company News
More than 400 delegates from 9 countries of the world participate in Kazakhstan International Congress “Astana Minerals & Metallurgy – 2010”
June 30, 2010, Astana city
Kazakhstan International Congress on Mineral Resources and Metallurgy “Astana Minerals & Metallurgy-2010” (AMM-2010) has opened on June 30 in Astana. The theme
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Prices and Statistics
Volume and Share Index by Visor Capital
Date: July 1, 2010; Source: Visor Capital
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Market Movers by Visor Capital
Date: July 1, 2010; Source: Visor Capital
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Oil and Gas Prices
Date: July 1, 2010; Source: Bloomberg.com
| Petroleum
($/bbl) |
|
Price* |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| Nymex Crude Future |
74.89
|
-.74
|
-.98
|
02:28 |
| Dated Brent Spot |
73.91 |
.04 |
.05 |
02:32 |
| WTI Cushing Spot |
75.63 |
-.31 |
-.41
|
06/30 |
| Petroleum
(cent/gal) |
|
Price* |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| Nymex Heating Oil Future |
200.11
|
-1.32
|
-.66 |
02:26
|
| Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future |
204.35
|
-1.69 |
-.82 |
02:02 |
| Natural gas
($/MMBtu) |
|
Price* |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| Nymex Henry Hub Future |
4.62 |
.00 |
.04 |
02:27 |
| Henry Hub Spot |
4.53 |
-.15 |
-3.21 |
06/30 |
| New York City Gate Spot |
4.77 |
-.20
|
-4.02 |
06/30
|
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Commodities
Date: July 1, 2010; Source: Bloomberg.com
| Commodity |
Price |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| COPPER FUTURE (USd/lb.) |
289.900 |
-5.150 |
-1.75 |
02:28 |
| GOLD 100 OZ FUTR (USD/t oz.) |
1241.100 |
-4.800
|
-0.39 |
02:28 |
| SILVER FUTURE (USD/t oz.) |
18.550 |
-0.158
|
-0.84
|
02:28 |
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Metal Prices
Date: July 1, 2010; Source: Kitco.com
| Silver |
18.45 |
-0.17 |
| Platinum |
1506.00 |
-27.00
|
| Palladium |
436.00 |
-7.00
|
| Rhodium |
2,440.00 |
0.00
|
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Exchange rates
Date: July 1, 2010; Source: the National Bank of Kazakhstan
| 1 USD |
KZT 147.55 |
1 CHF |
KZT 136.28 |
1 CNY |
KZT 21.76 |
1 TRY |
KZT 93.40 |
10 JPY |
KZT 1.67 |
| 1 EUR |
KZT 180.25 |
1 AUD |
KZT 125.85 |
1 KGS |
KZT 3.22 |
1 UZS |
KZT 0.09 |
|
|
| 1 GBP |
KZT 221.47 |
1 CAD |
KZT 140.60 |
1 RUB |
KZT 4.72 |
100 KRW |
KZT 12.08 |
|
|
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