Page 7 - bne_newspaper_February_08_2019

The Regions This Week
February 8, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 7
Eurasia
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev denied
any plans to hold a snap election, saying there was no such plan“at this point”. His remarks came amid speculation about the possibility of an early election after he requested that the coun- try's Constitutional Council clarify what powers he would hold upon leaving office.
Iran and Turkmenistan held talks on potential Caspian Sea projects. The fact that such talks took place might be seen as encouraging as rela- tions between Tehran and Ashgabat have been roiled in recent years with both sides refusing to relent on their standpoint as regards historical gas debts the Turkmen claim Iran owes.
Central Asian countries are still mostly “Not Free” in the Freedom in the World ranking from NGO Freedom House. The only exceptions are Mongolia, which is classified as “Free”, and Kyrgyzstan, the second freest country in the region, categorised “Partly Free”.
After weeks of protests, the Mongolian parliament elected Gombojav Zandanshatar as its new speaker following the ousting of Miyegombo Enkhbold due to an alleged abuse of power. Enkhbold’s departure, following accusations of corruption, is expected to soothe some of the public anger.
Uzbek state-owned car producer Uzavtosanoat is to rename automaker GM Uzbekistan following the completion of its full buyout of General Mo- tors’ (GM's) stake in the joint venture. GM Uzbeki- stan’s exports of vehicles and car parts in 2018 were valued at $25.5mn; Uzavtosanoat hopes to raise that figure to $118.6mn in 2019.
French President Emmanuel Macron declared April 24 as a day for the commemoration of the Armenian genocide. Paris officially recognised
the killings as genocide in 2001. Turkey has con- demned Macron’s move.
Georgia Capital PLC acquired the remaining 40% stake it didn't already own in a luxury hotel in Tbilisi, for $5.2mn, Alliance News reported. m2 real Estate, a subsidiary of Georgia Capital and owner of the Hospitality & Commercial Real Es- tate business, first acquired a 60% interest in the hotel in December 2017.
Giant Chinese automaker Chery Automobile is
to stay in Iran despite the downturn in the US sanctions-hit market, the CEO of its local partner Maad Iran Vehicle Manufacturing (MVM) was quot- ed as saying by Tasnim News Agency. Chinese car producers are feeling the squeeze on the Iranian market given that around 90% of the parts they use are imported.
Baku renewed its contract to host the Azerbaijan Grand Prix until 2023 under an agreement with Formula 1 management. The original agreement was due to expire in 2020, with an option to extend it for five years, but instead the two sides agreed on a three year extension.
The EBRD arranged a $12mn local currency loan for Mongolian daily producer Suu Milk to expand its facilities. “The loan will help Suu Milk improve raw milk collection logistics from over 2,500 nomad herders, half of which are women,” and EBRD statement added.
Five Tajik women were sentenced to life impris- onment in Iraq on January 31 after authorities found them guilty of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) militant group. As many as 43 Tajik women have been sentenced to 13-20 years of prison in Iraq in recent years for affiliation with IS, accord- ing to Tajik officials.