The region is tightening belts and preparing for pain. But there are reasons to hope the trickledown from Russia won’t be as bad as last time, in 2014.
Used cars are far cheaper in other members of the Eurasian Economic Union. So some 170,000 Kazakhs imported cars from these partners duty-free. Now they’re getting an unexpected bill.
The local hospital provided first aid, but before long, groups of aggressive men turned up, looking for Dungans. Thousands fled over the nearby border to Kyrgyzstan.
In our monthly Russian business briefing: Uzbekistan dithers, Azerbaijan offers a backdoor to Europe, and the rocket that fell on Kazakhstan will not frustrate a new $1 billion test range.
A steadier oil market has helped Kazakhstan’s National Oil Fund regain its footing. But Kazakhstan’s other fund, Samruk-Kazyna, has struggled in its privatization drive.
What do these three things have in common: a Kyrgyz gold mine, a Malaysian Ponzi scheme, and canned camel milk? If you said the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing wants a word with you.
