Page 8 - bne IntelliNews weekly newspaper – Russians lose showdown at EBRD AM

The Regions This Week
May 12, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Eurasia
Uzbekistan took the unprecedented step of agreeing to work with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), bringing it into line with rest of Central Asia. The move was declared as UN High Com- missioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hus- sein became the first such commissioner to visit Uzbekistan, a historic moment that never seemed likely to occur under long-time Uzbek leader Is- lam Karimov who died last September.
A preliminary deal signed by French construc- tion group Bouygues and Imam Khomeini Air- port Company to build the planned new Iran- Shahr (Iran City) terminal has been cancelled. French news reports indicated the project was hindered by Bouygues’ struggle to obtain financ- ing from international banks wary of US sanc- tions. The Iranians said the deal was cancelled because the French firm was behind schedule.
A London court ruled that evidence sought by UK’s Serious Fraud Office on dealings by ENRC can be handed over to investigators as part of a long-running criminal probe into the mining giant, which has been under investigation since 2013 over allegations of corruption relating to Kazakh- stan and Central Africa. Police are examining ENRC’s acquisition of mines and prospects in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ENRC denies it has committed any offences.
The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA),
the country’s biggest lender, failed to make a scheduled payment on a $100mn loan to Rubrika Finance Company on May 10. The failure came amidst a decision to restructure IBA’s debt and swap its junior and senior foreign currency obliga- tions for sovereign ones. The bank has suspended all foreign debt payments with the exception of trade finance facilities.
“Helicopter drop cash handouts” do not amount to sound fiscal policy, Iran’s non-aligned Par- liamentary Research Center warned candidates
contesting the upcoming May 19 presidential elec- tion. Candidates including Tehran Mayor Moham- mad Baqer Qalibaf and hardliner Ebrahim Raisi have proposed big rises in welfare payments. A website for job applicants looking for handouts, launched by Qalibaf, was blocked by a court, which declared it illegal electioneering amounting to bribing voters.
South Africa’s MTN agreed a preliminary deal to invest an initial $350mn in Iranian fixed broad- band provider Iranian Net. The investment gives it a 49% stake in the new firm and unlocks a $400mn loan from the Iranian government to the venture. MTN owns 49% of MTN-Irancell, the sec- ond biggest Iranian mobile network market player.
Iran’s central bank denied local bank accounts are susceptible to hacking attempts after media reports revealed several banks have been tar- geted by unknown groups. Although innovative, Iran’s E-banking system does not meet inter- national security standards, with users able to transfer money to other people’s cards with only a card number and a pin code.
A Canadian government delegation arrived in Tehran looking to restore diplomatic ties with Iran. Canada has had no diplomatic representa- tion in Iran since 2012 when Ottawa decided to shut its mission. Iran’s embassy in Canada was closed the same year with Iranian diplomats ejected from the country. Canada’s 2006-2015 Stephen Harper administration was close to Israel and complained of Iranian threats to Israel.
Kazakhstan will privatise its Air Astana flag carrier, state-run oil and gas company KazMun- aiGas and uranium miner Kazatomprom by 2019 at the latest, Finance Minister Bakhyt Sultanov said. However, analysts noted various officials have in recent months given various deadlines for the big privatisations.