Central Asian News Update – Stronger Top-Down Rule in Kyrgyzstan (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)

Stronger Top-Down Rule in Kyrgyzstan (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)
Reforms contain many retrograde steps and look very like an attempt to bolster President Bakiev.

Rominserv wins $27 mln contract to modernize Kazakh Atyrau Oil Refinery (Interfax)
MOSCOW. Nov 11 (Interfax) – Rominserv Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of Rompetrol, has won the contract to rebuild the vacuum-distillation unit at Atyrau Oil Refinery in Kazakhstan. Rominserv is the general contractor for Rompetrol projects.

Kazakhstan won’t let foreigners take over key banks (Reuters via Yahoo! Philippines News)
* Three Kazakh lenders negotiating debt restructuring

KAZAKHSTAN AND JORDAN SEEK STRONGER TIES (Bernama via Yahoo! Malaysia News)
ATTENTION EDITOR, GENERAL DESK KUALA LUMPUR, 10 November 2009 – President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan paid an official visit to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on November 3-4 where he held talks with, discussed prospects of enhancing mutual trade and investments, and opened a festival of Kazakhstanâs culture.

(AFX UK Focus) 2009-11-11 08:08 UPDATE 2-Kazakhstan c.bank hints at tenge to strengthen (Interactive Investor)
ALMATY, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Kazakh central bank chairman Grigory Marchenko said on Wednesday fundamentals were right for Kazakhstan’s tenge currency to appreciate. “From the point of view of objective economic reality, the tenge should strengthen against the dollar,” Marchenko told a briefing, citing rising oil prices and improving current account. Marchenko said earlier this week the central …

Return to Death Penalty Floated in Kyrgyzstan (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)
Parliament’s refusal to sign international ban on executions seen as a bad sign. A proposal to restore capital punishment has caused debate and outrage in Kyrgyzstan, where the death penalty has not been applied for more than a decade.

IWPR Reporter Shortlisted for Regional Prize (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)
Kyrgyz contributor selected as finalist in Asian journalism award for an article on controversial privatisations in her country. Asyl Osmonalieva, IWPR’s long-term contributor in Kyrgyzstan, was selected as a finalist in the Developing Asia Journalism Awards.

Prospects of grain exports from Kazakhstan (AgriMarket)
According to USDA, in 2009/10 MY, the export potential of grains from Kazakhstan totals 7.5 mln tonnes, an increase of 25% compared to the previous season. Traditionally, wheat will remain as the main exported grain.

New Approach to Youth Crime (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)
A centre for juvenile delinquents in southern Kyrgyzstan is using non-punitive methods to prevent adolescents from reoffending. Ulukbu Amirova reports from Batken region, where police say the teaching centre, set up in April, is already helping cut the youth crime figures.

Geophysical Survey Results From Red Hill Energy’s Khoot Ovoo Project Near Ulaan Ovoo Show Potential for a Large … (Marketwire)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Nov. 12, 2009) – Red Hill Energy (TSX VENTURE:RH) announced today the results from its recent geophysical survey program on its 4,961 hectare Khoot Ovoo property in northern Mongolia. Dual magnetic and IP resistivity surveys show strong potential for a coal-bearing basin only 20 km from Red Hill’s 100% owned, 208 million tonne hard coal resource at …

Kazakhstan Plans to Sell First Foreign Bond in Decade (Update1) (Bloomberg)
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s biggest energy producer, plans to raise funds in the international debt markets for the first time in a decade with a sale of foreign- currency bonds next year.

Kazakh Alliance in talks with private equity fund (Reuters via Yahoo! Malaysia News)
ALMATY, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Kazakh bank Alliance said on Tuesday an Arab private equity fund had expressed interest in buying a stake in the bank.

Blogs Last updated: November 5, 18:00 (Cyclingnews)
The Mongolian national team will make their first foray into European cyclo-cross competition today at Belgium’s Niel Jarmarktcross. The race will be the first stage in a three month lead up to January’s cyclo-cross World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic for the four-strong team.

Series bringing films from Kazakhstan, Mozambique (Aberdeen American News)
Kazakhstan and Mozambique provide the two films showing this weekend at the Capitol Theatre, 415 S. Main St….

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