US partner ‘has pulled out of Georgia’s Anaklia deep water port project’

Withdrawal reportedly caused by lack of government backing for country’s flagship infrastructure development. Analysts anticipate investment mothballing or arrival of Russian or Chinese stakeholders to replace Western partners.

ING Bank Turkey renews syndicated loan ahead of Turkish lenders’ refinancing season

All-in cost of €190mn tranche is Euribor+2.40%, $96mn tranche fixed at Libor+2.50%. Rollover ratio stands at 49%.

Has the Kremlin already scuppered Russia's next generation high speed 5G mobile phone network before it has been built?

Has the Kremlin already scuppered the launch of the next generation high speed 5G mobile phone network before it has been built? Some industry participants think so after the Russian government assigned a a little used frequency band for the system t

Armenia audit finds no grounds for criminal prosecution of gold miner Lydian

Toronto-listed company’s site has been blockaded for months by protesters arguing mining will pose a threat to water resources.

More publications switch from Kiev to Kyiv and ignore the “chicken thing”

After resisting for years, two more leading publications have switched the spelling of Ukraine’s capital from Kiev to Kyiv.

Estonia-based EstateGuru to carve out up to €5bn of expanding alternative real estate financing market

Co-founder of P2P lending platform believes real estate financing via digital platforms will increase to €75.6bn by 2025.

Polish cosmetics companies make it to the Chinese e-market

Companies such as Ziaja, Bielenda, Bell, Paese and Verona have successfully entered the Chinese market through the international e-commerce platforms AliExpress and Tmall.

Dostavista, the leading crowdsourced same-day delivery service, secures $15mn in series B funding

Dostavista, Russia’s leading crowd-sourced same-day delivery service operating globally, has raised $15m in a Series B funding round led by Vostok New Ventures, as well as other existing investors Flashpoint and Addventure

Belarus' export of computer services up 21% in 1H19

Belarus' export of computer services, telecommunication services and information services rose by 21% in the first half of 2019

Russian carsharing startup Delimobil could IPO in 2020

Russian carsharing start-up Delimobil could hold an IPO at the end of 2020 on Moscow Exchange, Interfax reported on August 7 citing the head of Mikro Kapital Group Vincenzo Trani.

Russian sanctions fifth anniversary, but no reason to celebrate

This summer mark the fifth anniversary of Western sanctions against Russia. But taking a quick look at Russian economic and financial sector indicators and you'd wonder if the sanctions are still in place.

COMMENT: Romania's inflation above 4% again

At 4.1% y/y, Romania's July inflation will probably be the highest print for the year, ING analysts write.

ING: Czech Republic: Surprising fall in industry

Industrial output fell by 6.4% y/y in June after over 3% growth in previous months. Though subject to calendar effects and other one-off factors, the weaker result also underlines that Czech industry is not immune to the German industrial slowdown.

ING: Russian inflation slows on restrained tariff indexation

TURKEY INSIGHT: Awesome, surreal!

Top officials say it’s all starting to come together for the Turkish economy. So why are some observers sniggering at the back?

Russia releases French Baring Vostok partner on house arrest

Moscow court released French partner of Baring Vostok Capital Partners Philippe Delpal from pre-trial detention and put him under house arrest on Thursday August 15.

Russian industrial output below expectations at 2.8% growth in July

Russian industrial output growth slowed down to 2.8% year-on-year from 3.3% seen in June, trending below the consensus expectations of 3.4% growth, and showing a seasonally-adjusted month-on-month decline of 0.4%. In January-July overall industry exp

Slovakia’s inflation up again to 2.9% y/y in July

Year-on-year inflation in Slovakia rose to 2.9% in July, up by 0.2 percentage points (pp) from June, with core inflation standing at 2.5% and net inflation at 1.9%, the data of the Slovak Statistics Office (SSO) showed on August 13.

Czech GDP growth of 2.7% y/y in 2Q19 positively surprised

Household consumption and external demand drove the economy in 2Q19.

Romania’s industry contracts for the first time in 10 years

Romania’s industrial production plunged by 6.6% y/y in June, dragging down the quarter’s performance to negative 1.7% y/y as the production of traditionally robust industrial sectors disappointed.

Which country is the biggest FDI investor into Russia? It’s Cyprus... Not.

Which country is the biggest investor into Russia? It’s Cyprus. At least that is according to the official figures from the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). But of course it isn’t really. A new study sheds light on the true origin of Russia's FDI

ATAMBAYEV SURRENDERS: Kyrgyz special forces follow up on botched first raid on ex-president’s compound

Charge over “illegal early release” of one of Kyrgyzstan’s most notorious crime bosses follows within hours. Rally of supporters broken up with tear gas and stun grenades.

The rubbish local politics in emerging Europe

After nearly three decades of transition the peoples of emerging Europe are starting to hold their governments to account. The issue driving most is not ideology or corruption but demands to deal with everyday problems like rubbish collection.

CARNAGE IN KYRGYZSTAN: Special forces raid fails to grab ex-president Atambayev from his compound

One serviceman left dead and six taken hostage and later released by supporters of country’s ex-leader after bloody resistance.

CEE monthly bond wrap: Summer doldrums afflict Russian bond issue, but CE raises large amounts

The emerging markets (EM) bond markets are well into their summer slowdown. There were virtually no bond issues from Russia at all in July but Central Europe saw $6.4bn of issues

KYIV BLOG: Zelenskiy's party won control of parliament, but now he has to control his party

Servant of the People won a landslide victory in July's parliamentary elections. The question remains can Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy actually control his own party?

ISTANBUL BLOG: Erdogan pulls off coup inside the central bank

Strongman rips guts out of regulator too slow for his liking in providing cheap money. If he wasn’t entirely at monetary helm before, he is now. But do global investors particularly care?

MOSCOW BLOG: Are regular Russians ready to face the police baton to get what they want?

Has the brutal beating of protestors in Moscow last weekend and the arresting of over 1,300 people—some simply innocent passersby—radicalised Muscovites? The crowd size at the sanctioned August 3 rally will be very telling.

BALKAN BLOG: Bulgaria’s nomination for chief prosecutor shows why the anti-corruption fight is failing

Protests in Sofia after Ivan Geshev — known for failing to deliver results in the Corpbank embezzlement trial and staging an action movie-style arrest of a Sofia district mayor — is nominated for chief prosector.

ISTANBUL BLOG: Turkish central bank chops policy rate (for “central bank” read “Erdogan”)

Lira holds steady after easing decision with global factors in its favour but no-one in their right mind should believe the government’s economic logic or data anymore.