News Roundup - October 1, 2007

The Moscow Times: Severstal Raises Bid For Celtic

Severstal on Friday made a new public offer for gold miner Celtic Resources worth ?161 million ($328 million), but Celtic's board immediately advised shareholders to reject it. News of Severstal's higher bid emerged just hours after Celtic, which has gold mining assets in Kazakhstan and Russia, informed the London Stock Exchange that a rival bidder had made a preliminary approach...
livemint.com: Is Kazakhstan a new convert to Putinism?
The Kazakhstan Parliament’s Bill allowing the government to break contracts with foreign firms is unsurprising. Under the existing contract for the $19 billion Kashagan oilfield, its near-doubling in costs and two-year delay seriously hit the Kazakh budget, while profits from higher oil prices will eventually flow to the consortium led by Italy’s Eni...
Malaysia Star: LCL’s Foray Proves Fruitful
LCL Corp Bhd's foray into Kazakhstan nearly two years ago might pay dividend as the interior fit-out (IFO) specialist is expected to grow by leaps and bounds as bigger contracts could be secured in the near future...
Associated Press: Kyrgzstan to Help on Nuclear Smuggling
Kyrgyzstan on Sunday signed on to a U.S. program to curb nuclear smuggling, becoming the fourth former Soviet state to join the initiative. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev signed an agreement that will help the Central Asian nation improve its capability to prevent, detect and respond to the smuggling of dangerous nuclear and radioactive material...
Reuters: S&P Assigns JSC KazMunaiGas Exploration BB-plus Rating
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned its 'BB+' long-term corporate credit rating to Kazakhstan-based oil company JSC KazMunaiGas Exploration Production (KMG EP). The outlook is stable...
Citywire: Sherwen on Risk: The Unseen Truth behind Investing in Central Asia
The five former Soviet republics of central Asia represent an exciting proposition for western investors but ongoing instability, such as the recent attempt to overthrow the president of Kyrgyzstan or snap elections in Kazakhstan, are unnerving...
Today's Zaman: Gül Meets Kazakh Counterpart in Ankara

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev wrapped up his visit to New York to attend the 62nd United Nations General Assembly on Sunday, arriving at the Çankaya Presidential Palace with a welcoming ceremony by Turkey’s newly elected president Abdullah Gül...

Eurasia Daily Monitor: Astana Caught Unprepared for Wheat Shortage
The steeply rising price of bread in all regions of Kazakhstan, coming in the wake of controversial parliamentary elections, has fueled popular discontent with the ruling Nur Otan party and become an embarrassment for the government...
EnerPub: Scrambling for Kazakh Oil
International companies continue to jostle for position in the contest for access to Kazakhstan's diverse mineral deposits amid an ongoing dispute over the world's largest recent oil find. A deepening dispute over the world's largest recent oil find is raising fears among western mineral extraction firms and governments of a reversal in their preeminent position in Kazakhstan, as voracious Asian powers scramble to secure their own economic futures...