Via the Emerging Markets blog, an interesting report on Kyrgyzstan: The sale of Kyrgyzgaz company for a symbolic price of US $1 to Russian gas monopoly Gazprom OAO has been finalized and may represent a landmark of a new type of Russification of Kyrgyzstan. This new deal followed the one related to the military base […]
Read more »Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), a report on Gazprom’s upcoming acquisition of a Kyrgyz energy firm: Russia’s looming acquisition of a key energy company in Kyrgyzstan will boost its position in the strategic country, with economic and security implications for the broader Central Asian region. Kyrgyz state energy firm Kyrgyzgaz head Turgunbek Kulmurzayev said July 17 that Russia’s […]
Read more »Via Reuters, a very interesting article on the difficulties of investing in Kyrgyzstan: The bus loaded with supporters of a planned $100 million mine had just left its remote Kyrgyz village when a mob on horseback blocked the road. What happened next was a warning to foreign mining companies who had hoped democracy in Kyrgyzstan […]
Read more »Via Window On Eurasia, an interesting look at Beijing’s active program to restore the eastern part of the Silk Road and tie Central Asia closer to China. As the article notes: “…Moscow analyst Aleksandr Shustov describes both what China has been up to in this regard not only involving gas pipelines but also railways and […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Japan Times, an interesting article on the evolving pipeline politics of Central Asia. As the report notes: “…The opening early last month of a new Central Asia-China gas pipeline is the latest demonstration of Beijing’s growing influence over the natural resources of the region. China’s voracious appetite for energy resources has led […]
Read more »Courtesy of Stratfor (subscription required and recommended), a terrific two-part analysis of Uzbekistan withdrew from Central Asia’s Unified Power System, a synchronized electric grid linking Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The move is part of a series of disputes between Central Asia’s five countries. The region’s geography and distribution of resources is likely to make […]
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