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Kyrgyzstan & Uzbekistan News

This Section is contributed by Kazkommerts Securities

October 26, 1998

Latest Kazakhstan Weekly News

o The National Bank of Kyrgyz Republic set up the official Som/Dollar exchange rate at 23.3475 on 24 October 1998. (Reuters)

o Kyrgyzstan's Central Election Commission stated on 18 October that 2.27 million people or 96.26% of the `country's eligible voters took part in the referendum the previous day on amendments to the constitution. Of those, 2.07 million or 90.92% voted in favour of those amendments. Kyrgyzstan thus becomes the first CIS Central Asian state to introduce private land ownership rights. According to the other amendments, the parliament cannot discuss budget spending without approval from the government, and the number of deputies in the Legislative Assembly will be changed from 35 to 67 and in the People's Assembly from 70 to 38. In addition, deputies can be stripped of immunity in some cases, and greater freedom of speech has been granted. (RFE/RL)

o Kyrgyzstan's external debt currently totals more than 40% of the GDP and it is expected to increase not more than 1 percent by the end of the year as the country is going to get a loan from the World Bank, the chairman of the State Investment Agency, Urkaly Isaev, said to Reuters. The loan of USD 36.5m will be granted for 40 years at a rate of 0.75% per annum, and the first tranche is to be disbursed in 5-6 December. The money is intended to support the state budget and pension reform, in particular. (Reuters)

o According to the Kyrgyz National Statistics Committee, the country's industrial output rose 6.9% in January-September compared with the same period last year.

Kyrgyzstan's trade deficit in the first 8 months of 1998 was USD 176.5m. It was USD 35m in the same period last year.

Kyrgystan's GDP in the first 9 months of 1998 rose 1.4% compared with the year-ago level.

Monthly consumer price inflation was up 0.2pp in September. The number of unemployed people fell from 65,531 in August to 63,100 (or 3.6% of the workforce) at the end of September. (Reuters)

o Canada-based Cameco Corporation announced last week that the Kyrgyz Kumtor gold mine which is one-third owned by Cameco has achieved a production milestone of one million ounces of gold. The other two-thirds of the mine belong to Kyrgyzstan. Kumtor is the largest Western-managed mining project in the former Soviet Union and began commercial production in May 1997. Last year it produced 500,000 ounces of gold. Production in 1998 is expected to exceed 600,000 ounces. The mine is operated by Kumtor Operating Company, a 100% subsidiary of Cameco. (Reuters)

o According to a Reuters source in the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan, the latest average yields on 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month T-bills are 82.12%, 83.41% and 95.44%, respectively. (Reuters)

o From 27 October, the official Sum/Dollar rate of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan will be 106.96/USD. (Reuters)

o Uzbekistan is starting the second stage of its Mass Privatisation Programme and in November will resume sales of shares in 200 companies to investment privatisation funds (IPF). The programme was developed by the Uzbek Government jointly with the World Bank in autumn 1996. For the second stage of the programme, the government will propose to IPFs 30% stakes in 200 companies of the light and food processing industries, and transport and construction sectors for a total of 1.98 billion Sumes (USD 18m). During the first stage, between the beginning of 1997 and April 1998, the government sold, via 20 dedicated auctions, 30% stakes in 226 companies to the amount of 1.34 billion Sumes (USD 12m) (Reuters)

o The Oxus Resources Corporation of Great Britain has started a feasibility study to develop the Amantaitau and Daugyztau gold deposits in Uzbekistan. The company is expected to finalise its participation in the projects in March 1999. The reserves at these deposits are estimated at 280 tonnes of gold. (Reuters)

o The Navoi Mining and Metal Plant (NMMP), Uzbekistan, and Cogema, France, have reportedly completed research works on uranium mining technology and intend to establish a joint venture to produce this metal. The joint venture is expected to be based at the Surgaly deposit in the Central Kyzylkum desert, 450 km west of Tashkent. According to the NMMP, the explored reserves of the deposit are 38,000 tonnes of uranium. NMMP is the sole producer of uranium in Uzbekistan and it exports the entire output to world markets through its intermediary, the U.S. company Nukem. (Reuters)