Kazakhstan’s government has raised export duties on petroleum products, the national press reports.
The decree, signed by Prime Minister Karim Massimov on September 5, was published in the national press last Saturday, September 17. The new export duty rates will come into force from September 27.
Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada has approved an unpopular pension reform bill set as a key requirement to unlock a US$15.6 billion aid package from the International Monetary Fund to the Ukrainian economy.
The bill, approved early Friday, is designed to overhaul Ukraine’s Soviet-era pension system as the government seeks to slash spending in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.
Ukraine’s parliament approved a government bill on pension reform at first reading on June 16.
Mongolian state-run Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi is expected to appoint banks to manage an IPO worth up to US$5 billion for the world’s largest unexploited coking coal deposit, a source close to the matter told reporters.
More than 150 investment banks from Wall Street, Europe and Asia-Pacific made pitches to the Mongolian government over the past few days to win the coveted underwriting mandate for the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine. Sources said a decision is expected within two weeks.
A new version of the tax code will be presented to the Ukrainian Parliament by Thursday after President Viktor Yanukovych has exercised his right of veto the bill, caving in to the largest opposition protest since his election in February.
The new version will be drafted by the president’s office and the government together with representatives of small businesses.
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.
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.
In Mongolia, where no coins are used, the country’s national currency, the tugrik (or tögrög), has slowly been making a comeback due to massive deflation and significant revaluation against the U.S. dollar.
As such, the humble 1 tugrik banknote – the smallest currency denomination in Mongolia, worth roughly US$0.0007 – has re-entered the daily lives of Mongolia’s citizens after being virtually unusable in recent years.
In addition, an end to the impasse between the Mongolian government and the worlds mining corporations looms on the horizon, which would likely ensure that the country comes out of the recession in better shape than it went in.
Vietnam plans to sell $1 billion of 10-year dollar-denominated bonds in an attempt to curb inflation, an expanding trade deficit, and a weakening national currency (the dong).
The sale could occur as early as this week with a coupon rate of not greater than seven percent, according to Vietnam’s central bank.
“The new issue should have an absolute yield of around 6.85 percent to 7 percent,” said Sergey Dergachev of Frankfurt-based Union Investments. “Vietnam is economically much weaker, with significant twin deficits and a highly managed exchange rate.”
The proceeds of the sale will help fund Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, Vietnam National Shipping Lines, Song Da Corp., and Vietnam Machinery Installation Corp., the State Bank of Vietnam said in a statement on their website.
The sale may also help the floundering Vietnamese dong which depreciated 5.4 percent last year against the dollar and is currently trading at VND18,420 to USD1.
Xinhua reports that, as urban fixed-asset investment continues to rise, China will see a steady increase in mid to long term lending.
According to a report from Galaxy Securities on Wednesday, monthly new yuan-dominated loans over the next four month are expected to reach 450 billion yuan (USD65.9 billion).
Data from the National Bureau of Statistic showed that fixed-asset investment in China’s urban areas rose to 11.3 trillion yuan, up 33 percent in the first eight months of 2009.
New loans in the first eight months stood at 8.15 trillion yuan, far exceeding the year end target of five trillion yuan, according to the People’s Bank of China.
In a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee yesterday, Vietnam’s Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc unveiled the details of the government’s US$8 billion stimulus package.
US$5.2 billion of the funds will go towards infrastructure and development projects, US$1.6 will come in the form of tax breaks for enterprises and individuals, and a further US$400 million will serve welfare purposes.
During the meeting, Minister Phuc also downgraded Vietnam’s expected yearly growth in gross domestic product (GDP) to 5 percent from the original forecast of 6.5 percent.