Page 10 - bne_newspaper_March_23_2018

The Regions This Week
March 23, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 10
Eurasia
Embattled International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) decided to close down its subsidiaries in Russia and Georgia as part of its restructuring. In May 2017, the bank said it would default on $3.3bn worth of foreign obligations, with the obligations to be swapped for sovereign ones, forcing creditors to accept haircuts and reduced yields.
Britain, France and Germany discussed making an attempt to persuade Donald Trump to stick with the Iran nuclear deal by assuaging the US president with fresh EU sanctions targeted at Iran over its ballistic missiles programme and role in Syria’s war. Trump delivered an ultimatum to the European signatories of the accord on January 12, saying he was providing a “last chance” to “fix its terrible flaws”.
The Swiss Federal Tribunal upheld the seizure of $1.85mn in Swiss bank accounts as part of
a corruption probe tied to former Mongolian finance minister Bayartsogt Sangajav, who helped secure the Oyu Tolgoi flagship copper and gold mining project in the Gobi desert.
Kazakh businessman Muratkhan Tokmadi, who pleaded guilty to the 2004 murder of former CEO of BTA Bank, Yerzhan Tatishev, in a “hit job” allegedly ordered by fugitive banker Mukhtar Ablyazov, was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison. The death was previously ruled to be a case of involuntary manslaughter during a hunting trip.
Eleven were injured in a horrific and bizarre ski-lift accident in the Georgian resort of Gudauri. A defective lift started running backwards at an accelerated speed, prompting unsuspecting skiers that wanted to go up the slope to jump from their seats.
Iran has nearly doubled gas production at South Pars, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
said. Gas production at South Pars in the Persian Gulf — the world’s largest gas field, although the Iranians share it with Qatar — increased from 285mn cubic metres to 555mn cubic metres in the just completed Iranian calendar year (ended March 20).
The Georgian Industrial Group (GIG), a conglomerate of companies owned by former politician David Bezhuashvili and his brother, is looking to buy the Georgian subsidiary
of Kazakhstan's KazTransGas for $40mn.
KazTransGas is a state-owned Kazakh gas company which operates gas pipelines, compressor stations and distributing units and engages in gas production and exploration.
Kyrgyzstan’s economic growth reached 2.7% y/y in January-February, compared to the 4.4% y/y recorded in the same period of 2017.
Armoil is building an oil refinery north of Yerevan with an investment of AMD16.8bn ($35mn). It has received import tax breaks worth AMD523mn for imports of equipment.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Azerbaijan are reportedly mulling several options to upgrade cooperation, including full membership for Baku.
A European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) delegation visited Uzbekistan. The EBRD re-entered Uzbekistan after a 10-year hiatus in 2017 after new President Shavkat Mirziyoyev began pursuing reforms. Last year, the EBRD signed off six operations involving more than €153mn in Uzbekistan.
Iran has officially received $1.9bn in foreign investment since President Hassan Rouhani began his second presidential term last August.