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The Regions This Week
June 16, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Eurasia
A group of creditors that has reportedly lent International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) $220mn objected in a US court to the lender’s debt re- structuring plan saying it “runs roughshod over certain fundamental rights”. They include asset managers Fidelity Management & Research Com- pany and Franklin Templeton Investment Manage- ment and hedge funds Promeritum Fund and VR Global Partner. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, has said its pension fund will support IBA’s debt restruc- turing. It hopes to swap one-on-one the $250mn of IBA debt it holds for 15-year Azerbaijani sover- eign eurobonds paying 3.5%.
Second largest Kazakh lender Halyk Bank is
to provide 185bn tenge (€520.5mn) to recapi- talise largest lender Kazkommertsbank (KKB) after buying a 96.81% stake in the troubled bank for a nominal sum of KZT2 ($0.006). Kazakhstan sees the takeover as the best way to solve KKB’s bad loans problem, which stems largely from its takeover of failed bank BTA in 2015. The state will first buy up KZT2.4tn of KKB’s bad loans.
Iran jumped to the aid of blockaded Qatar, ar- ranging food deliveries for the import-dependent peninsular nation and continuing to allow Qatar Airways flights to use its airspace where neces- sary. Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia and countries including Egypt, have cut diplomatic, land, sea and air links with Doha in a row over its alleged support for extremists and terrorists and close- ness to Tehran.
Turkish businesses forced out of Uzbekistan under the late President Islam Karimov are expected to start re-engaging with the Uzbek market. Karimov’s successor Shavkat Mirziyoyev recently ordered a restitution of assets to Turkish company Demir Holding. They were confiscated during an ugly crackdown on Turkish investors
in 2011.
Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) said international insurance restrictions no
longer hinder Iranian vessels travelling the world’s oceans. Prior to the removal of nuclear sanctions, IRISL and any shipping operators transporting cargoes such as Iranian oil were barred from obtaining insurance from global shipping insurers.
The first consignment of Euro IV petrol produced at Iran’s Persian Gulf Star Refinery is ready
for nationwide distribution, National Iranian
Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) said. International sanctions left Iran with no choice but to produce low-quality fuel
as petrol imports were squeezed and it was not possible to invest in revamping ageing refineries.
Tehran accused Saudi Arabia of “actively” supporting Islamic State activities in western and eastern Iran among Iranian Sunni populations. The claims came in the wake of
the June 7 attacks on Iran’s parliament and tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini that left 17 dead. Since then Iran’s intelligence ministry has claimed
its operatives have killed the mastermind of the terrorist atrocities in an operation in an unidentified foreign country and a handful of IS members in Iran.
Iran became only the second country to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia after beating Uzbekistan 2-0 in Tehran. The Islamic Republic is a football-mad country and in recent years government investment in training players has been raised. Thousands of Iranians are expected to head to Russia for the finals. Visa-free travel may be available thanks to warm ties with Moscow.
Further Iranian interest rate cuts are not re- quired, Iran’s central bank-affiliated Money and Credit Council determined, despite pressure for cuts. Rates stand at 15% for savings and 18% for loans. The national lender is pursuing single-digit rates that would be around 2-3% higher than of- ficial inflation of 8.7%.