Iran announced that it will issue $300 million in state treasury bills, an Iranian alternative to sovereign debt that is sharia-law compliant. The bills are being issued well below their market value for the time being and are seen as a means of gauging interest in the opening Iranian market. The Iranian government has previously…
George Osborne, Britain’s Secretary of State and Chancellor Exchequer, made several announcements on investment in Iran and Xinjiang region of China. Osborne pledged to lead a trade delegation to Iran next year if the Islamic Republic honors its nuclear deal in the wake of its embassy reopening. Additionally, Osborne on Tuesday embarked on a trade…
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Sebastien Peyrouse, Research Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. Dr. Peyrouse is an Associated Scholar with the Institute for International and Strategic Relations in Paris, France and has published widely on Central Asia, with an emphasis on Turkmenistan. He…
The Russian ministers of economy and energy have stated their opposition to an increase in taxes on hydrocarbons. The statements came Wednesday after Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov presented a plan to raise taxes on all oil and gas development with the intention of using the funds to bolster the struggling Russian economy. An increase,…
Iranian citizens are refusing to spend much money these days, in anticipation of imminent sanctions relief that will spur a decrease in domestic prices. Ironically, this is the opposite effect on the economy that everyone had anticipated for Iran, at least in the short term. In particular, the automotive sector has seen far less purchasing…
The IAEA recently visited Parchin, an Iranian military site which had been off limits for the past decade. The head of the agency lauded the Iranian government for what he described as significant progress in governmental cooperation with the IAEA. The UN watchdog also analyzed samples from the facility and “observed” recent renovations in the…
Opposition party candidates, hoping to finally secure seats in the Russian Duma later next month, were met with complete failure after regional elections showed that the ruling United Russia party won every regional poll across the country. Other mainstream Russian parties like the Communist party, Liberal Democratic Party, and a Just Russia also made a…
The Moldovan central bank has intervened to prop up national currency leu at the urging of Moldovan Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet to “take all necessary measures” to slow a seven month decline in the leu’s value. The central bank has raised the national interest rate to 19.5 percent, a jump of two percent. Moldovan central…
Kazakhstan’s Central Bank just sold another $144 million in dollars from its reserves attempting to stabilize the tenge, blaming the 1.2% daily decline on the actions of “speculators.” Central Bank governor Kairat Kelimbetov allowed on August 20 of last month for the currency to float freely after the Chinese Central Bank allowed the yuan to…
Iranian and Chinese diplomats recently convened in Beijing to discuss increased cooperation across a number of political and economic sectors in the coming years. With the removal of sanctions looming, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif noted that the country would like to play host to a growing number of Chinese firms and attract Chinese investment…
STEPPE DISPATCHES 