From Bloomberg, an optimistic look at Central Asia’s investment potential. As the article notes: “…Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan don’t tend to come to mind when searching for safety. Nor do Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in the Caucasus region. Yet there’s increasing merit to taking the road less traveled, literally and figuratively. “Amid […]
Read more »From The Foreign Policy Association, a nice summary of China’s growing influence in the Central Asian states. As the article notes, recent projects include: “-A 960-kilometer oil pipeline from Western Kazakhstan to Western China has partially started operations and should be carrying 20 millions tons of the black gold annually in only a few years […]
Read more »Via The Financial Times, an interesting look at which emerging markets Mark Mobius (executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management) is focusing on, in spite of the recent credit-related financial turmoil. As the article notes, Mobius has long been at the forefront of drawing investors toward frontier markets, including Bangladesh, Botswana, Estonia and Tunisia, and now […]
Read more »According to Reuters, Kazakh state oil company KazMunaiGas will create a joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell to handle the production segment of the Kashagan oilfield. As noted in the article: “…Energy Minister Sauat Mynbayev said KazMunaiGas would take over production-related operations at Kashagan in five years and join its new operational structure, according to […]
Read more »As reported by Window on Eurasia, Chinese, Kyrgyz and Uzbek experts have reached agreement on the route of a railway line between China and Central Asia, but this project – which would transform the geopolitics of the region – still faces some serious technical and political obstacles. As the article notes: “…experts have agreed on […]
Read more »From The Spectator, an interesting look at how the credit crunch has reached & affected Kazakhstan. Unlike the bullish news we regularly see on the country’s petro-driven economy, this article notes: “…these are troubling times for Kazakhstan’s 15 million citizens. The economy is slowing — from over 9 per cent growth in 2006 to an […]
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