News: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 
Article of the Day
Kazakhstan puts Hold on KazakhGold-Polyus Merger
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry has ordered a planned merger between KazakhGold and its parent, Russia’s Polyus Gold, put on hold because of possible irregularities in last year’s sale of KazakhGold to Polyus.
The ministry said it issued the order "due to newly discovered information regarding violations of the law on mineral resources” in the sale. No other details were provided.
The Assaubayev family's Gold Lion Holdings was the main KazakhGold shareholder before Polyus. They deny allegations that former management misappropriated funds or misstated results in connection with the sale to Polyus, which is controlled by Russian billionaires Mikhail Prokhorov and Suleiman Kerimov.
Both KazakhGold and Polyus applauded the Ministry of Industry’s move.
"We welcome the readiness of the relevant Kazakhstan authorities and ministries to investigate the activities of former management," KazakhGold CEO and Polyus Gold General Director Evgeny Ivanov said in a statement.
After Polyus acquired its controlling stake in KazakhGold, it filed a $450 million lawsuit against the Assaubayevs over the deal.
VTB Capital said the Ministry of Industry move creates uncertainty about whether the merger will ever occur.
"Now, after so much work has been put in, we believe it is facing certain risks,” VTB said. “In the longer term, it might undermine Polyus' plans to attract a global player through a merger or acquisition to develop its large reserve base.”
Polyus proposed a reverse takeover transaction this year under which it would turn from the parent of KazakhGold into a subsidiary of the Kazakhstan company.
A Russian government commission on foreign investments signed off on the reverse takeover in April.
The transaction, which would have seen a $307 million firm acquiring a parent company more than 30 times its size, was meant to create a $10.8 billion group that would have become the largest pure gold miner on the London Stock Exchange.
The two companies had planned to close the deal by August 10.
The companies together produced 1.3 million ounces of gold last year, almost double the world’s single largest producer, African Barrick Gold, whose output was 716,000 ounces, according to Reuters.
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Kazakhstan General
Six Presidents pledge to expand Customs Union
Six presidents of former Soviet countries have agreed in an informal summit to work toward expansion of the Customs Union.
The six, meeting in the Ukrainian port
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OSCE Meeting Topics to include Kyrgyzstan Turmoil
Key topics at a meeting of OSCE ministers in Almaty on Friday and Saturday will include how to d eal with the conflict in Afghanistan and
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Polish Minister to stop in Caucasus before Almaty
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski is stopping in Georgia and Armenia this week before coming to Almaty for an informal meeting of OSCE ministers Friday and
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Kazakhstan is Fifth Among 98 Nations in Math Olympiad
By Muratbek Makulbekov
Kazakhstan took fifth place among 98 countries at the 51st International Mathematical Olympiad in Astana.
China was first, Russia second, the Unites States third and
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Oil and Gas Sector
What’s Behind the Tengizchevroil Accusations
Commentary
Kazakhstan Oil Ministry accusations that a Chevron-led venture is pumping too much oil are the latest signs the government wants more money from production-sharing agreements it
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KazMunaiGas Unit to buy Stakes in 3 Oil Firms
By Nariman Gizitdinov
KazMunaiGas Exploration Production will spend $2.25 billion buying stakes in three oil companies and three-year bonds from its parent company.
The subsidiary of government-owned KazMunaiGas
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Alliance Oil produces 7.7 Million Barrels in First Half
Bermuda-based Alliance Oil produced 7.7 million barrels of oil in the first half of 2010, with 200,000 barrels coming from its Kazakhstan operations.
Most of its production
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Why KazMunaiGas Unit decided on Bonds
By Miles Johnson
KazMunaiGas Exploration Production decided to buy $1.5 billion worth of bonds from its parent company to diversify its cash holdings away from the fragile
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Finance and Investment
First-half Industrial Production jumps 11%
Kazakhstan’s industrial production jumped 11 percent in the first half of 2010 compared with the first six months of last year.
Increases in iron-ore and energy production
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$17 Billion in First-quarter Foreign Investment
Kazakhstan attracted $17.14 billion in foreign investment in the first quarter of the year, according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan.
Of the total, $5.27 billion was
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Four Banks got $3 Billion in Government Help
By Daniyar Sihibayev
Four of Kazakhstan’s biggest banks have received the tenge equivalent of $3 billion during the financial crisis, according to Daniyar Akishev, deputy chairman of
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First-half Inflation is 4.4 Percent
Kazakhstan’s inflation for the first half of the year was 4.4 percent, the National Bank of Kazakhstan reports.
That is below the 6.8 percent forecast for the
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Trade and Consumer Goods
More Grain Growers use Water-saving Technique
Kazakhstan grain growers are using a water-saving crop-planting technique on twice as much land as they did just three years ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Regional Business News
Russia, Vietnam plan Offshore Oil Deal
Russia’s government-owned oil firm Zarubezhneft will sign a deal with Vietnam's Petrovietnam in October to develop another field off the south coast of Vietnam, Reuters reports.
Zarubezhneft
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Moldova and Russia in Wine War
Russia is punishing Moldova for a political snub by rejecting imports of Moldova’s world-class wines on grounds of inferior quality, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The
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Putin rips Aeroflot Plan to buy Boeings, Airbuses
By Lucian Kim
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has criticized OAO Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, for seeking to expand domestic market share by buying more planes from Boeing
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Facebook’s Ploy to gain More Share in Russia
When it comes to social networks, Russians have overwhelmingly favored local services, the BBC reports.
It’s a situation which has left global market leader Facebook playing catch
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Jailed Russian Oligarch on Trial Again
By David Greene
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 47, was once Russia's richest man, an oil tycoon whose wealth and influence caught the eye of Russia's political elite.
The question is:
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LG to Make More Refrigerators in Uzbekistan
South Korea's LG Electronics will spend $8.9 million this year and next to expand production of refrigerators at its joint venture in Samarkand.
LG, which also has
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Russian Emigrants’ Still a Fixture in British Columbia
By Kristin Jackson
The Kootenays region of Canada’s British Columbia Province has long been a cultural crossroads, according to the Seattle Times.
Home for thousands of years
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Kazakhstan Events
Aktobe Industrial Exhibition opens
More than 130 companies from Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus are showing products at the Ninth Kazakhstan-Russia Industrial Exhibition in Aktobe today.
The exhibits will cover machine-building, the
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Prices and Statistics
Volume and Share Index by Visor Capital
Date: July 13, 2010; Source: Visor Capital
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Market Movers by Visor Capital
Date: July 13, 2010; Source: Visor Capital
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Oil and Gas Prices
Date: July 13, 2010; Source: Bloomberg.com
| Petroleum
($/bbl) |
|
Price* |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| Nymex Crude Future |
74.69
|
-.26
|
-.35
|
01:58 |
| Dated Brent Spot |
73.09 |
-.41 |
-.55 |
02:07 |
| WTI Cushing Spot |
74.95 |
-1.14 |
-1.50
|
07/12 |
| Petroleum
(cent/gal) |
|
Price* |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| Nymex Heating Oil Future |
198.51
|
-.62
|
-.31 |
01:37
|
| Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future |
202.41
|
-.39 |
-.19 |
01:49 |
| Natural gas
($/MMBtu) |
|
Price* |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| Nymex Henry Hub Future |
4.41 |
.02 |
.55 |
01:57 |
| Henry Hub Spot |
4.43 |
.08 |
1.84 |
07/12 |
| New York City Gate Spot |
4.84 |
.04
|
.83 |
07/12
|
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Commodities
Date: July 13, 2010; Source: Bloomberg.com
| Commodity |
Price |
Change |
%Change |
Time |
| COPPER FUTURE (USd/lb.) |
299.100 |
-1.800 |
-0.60 |
01:59 |
| GOLD 100 OZ FUTR (USD/t oz.) |
1200.000 |
1.300
|
0.11 |
01:59 |
| SILVER FUTURE (USD/t oz.) |
17.935 |
0.018
|
0.10
|
01:59 |
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Metal Prices
Date: July 13, 2010; Source: Kitco.com
| Silver |
17.89 |
-0.02 |
| Platinum |
1511.00 |
-2.00
|
| Palladium |
456.00 |
+3.00
|
| Rhodium |
2,410.00 |
0.00
|
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Exchange rates
Date: July 13, 2010; Source: the National Bank of Kazakhstan
| 1 USD |
KZT 147.60 |
1 CHF |
KZT 138.44 |
1 CNY |
KZT 21.80 |
1 TRY |
KZT 94.71 |
10 JPY |
KZT 1.66 |
| 1 EUR |
KZT 185.49 |
1 AUD |
KZT 128.60 |
1 KGS |
KZT 3.22 |
1 UZS |
KZT 0.09 |
|
|
| 1 GBP |
KZT 220.71 |
1 CAD |
KZT 142.90 |
1 RUB |
KZT 4.78 |
100 KRW |
KZT 12.27 |
|
|
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