Communist Tax Lawyer

North Korea’s iconic leader Kim Jong-il hailed his country’s “shining victory” and sang patriotic songs while attending a concert  on Wednesday, according to official media outlets.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il attended a concert yesterday celebrating the 57th anniversary of the Korean War as the two main adversaries from that conflict conducted war drills off his country’s eastern coast. Read the rest of this entry »

The Ukrainian government has decided to liquidate its unprofitable coal mines, closing down 107 of them in 2010.

“The government funds which was use to spent on unprofitable mining enterprises support will be going to modernization of those mines, which can be successfully privatized in the near future,” a government official explained. Read the rest of this entry »

The Ukrainian parliament is moving to ratify the pro-EU natural gas market liberalization law in all three required readings.

According to the law, state-run NJSC Naftogaz in order to give an equal access to gas pipelines for each market participant, will be divided to three different enterprises by type of activity: marketing, extracting and transportation. Read the rest of this entry »

The Ukrainian market for mortgage loans has been continuing to decline from the beginning of 2010. Since then national banks portfolios have reduced by 3.5 percent to 3.6 billions grivnas. In the first quote of this year, credits volume, guaranteed by real estates reduced to 3.64 billion grivnas, the national Ukrainian Mortgage Association (UMA) reported yesterday. Throughout last year credit volume reduced by 3.8 percent.

“During the pre-crisis years real estate markets were overheated due to very trite reason like greediness”, UMA chairman of board Igor Yushko said to Kommersant-Ukraine daily. Read the rest of this entry »

Azerbaijan-Central Asia Financial Markets Infrastructure Advisory Services Project (ACAFI) official Teymur Geybatov announced that Azerbaijan’s Central Bank has accepted the ACAFI’s business-plan to open the country’s first credit bureau, calling it “the cornerstones of a sound financial system.”

“According to our business plan, capital accumulation should be completed within 9 months” – said Geybatov, who added that US$1 million is needed to provide the bureau with the required software. Read the rest of this entry »

According to Tajik Ministry of Finance over US$186 million was transferred to the accounts of the Rogun hydroelectric power plant project through the sale of stocks and shares certificates of OJSC Rogun as well as financial donations, fergana.ru reports.

The shares of construction company with total value of US$1.37 billion were issued on January 6, 2010. US$3.2 billion is required for the project achievement.

Construction on the Rogun Dam began back in 1976, and continued in starts and stops for the past 30 years. In 2004, the Tajik government formed a partnership with Russia’s Rusal to complete the project. Despite Rusal’s US$2 billion commitment to the project, Tajikistan authorities had canceled their contract in 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Mongolia continues its transition to a free-market economy by making a legal framework for launching casino in one of the country’s Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in the Mongolia-China border town of Zamyn Uud. Members of the Ikh Khural (Parliament) D.Zagdjav and D.Batbayar proposed a draft law for a Limited Casino to speaker D.Demberel.

This is the third try to pass the law on Casino through Ikh Khural. Two other drafts were rejected by the previous Parliament.

“Neighboring regions of neighboring countries don’t have any casinos or gambling centers, which allows such businesses to flourish in Mongolia,” deputies said to Business Mongolia. Law initiators believe that it will contribute to the Mongolian economy and revenue. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this year Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbaev declared that contracts signed with foreign mining companies that guarantee privileges protecting them from changes in taxation conditions should be reconsidered.

Last week Minister of Gas and Oil Sauat Mynbaev confirmed government plan to reconsider contracts with foreign mining companies with the exception of the Kashagar deposit which is being developed by joint efforts of Italy’s Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, U.S. Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil, Japanese Inpex and Kazakhstan’s Kazmunaigaz (KMG). KMG is the state-owned oil and gas company responsible for operating state oil and gas interests and pipelines. Read the rest of this entry »

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belarus at the moment has not received any notice from Kyrgyzstan about the extradition of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev who is currently in Minsk. This was stated by Foreign Ministry spokesman, Andrei Savinykh, at a press briefing on April 22.

Answering journalists’ questions about the situation in Kyrgyzstan, a spokesman of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry underlined: “We’re faced with a serious international problem. Our President, Alexander Lukashenko is working on directions for a resolution. There is no doubt that this problem can be solved only within the framework of international law.” Read the rest of this entry »

The third day of another Kyrgyz revolution has passed but things are far from over. According to multiple reports, people have been killed and injured while aggressive drunks have control of the streets of various cities while private houses and shops are being looted. The latest news reports bloody clashes between police and anti-government protesters in Bishkek resulted in 68 people shot dead. There are also victims in other cities. Over 500 people were injured and Bishkek hospitals were filled with patients in dire need of blood.

Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongantiyev and First Deputy Prime Minister Akylbek Zhaparov were severely beaten by protesters in the town of Talas, where the unrest began on Tuesday, the Ferghana.ru news service reported. The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry denied reports that Kongantiyev had died of his injuries.

The protesters set fire to the prosecutor’s office and looted state television headquarters. Kyrgyz state television and state-controlled Channel Five have suspended broadcasting, reports Interfax. Read the rest of this entry »