Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Economy

Economy

The Rise and Fall of the Kabul Bank – making the details public

Martine van Bijlert •

Much has been written about the Kabul Bank crisis. A series of confidential investigations and audits have described the legal violations and technical processes involved in the bank management’s fraudulent operations, and most of these reports were fairly widely leaked. Media appearances by the various protagonists and representatives of government institutions involved in the follow-up […]

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As NATO Nears Exit, Construction Dries Up

admin •

As NATO Nears Exit, Construction Dries Up A curse or a blessing? According to the executive manager of the Afghan Builders Association, the number of construction companies in Afghanistan had fallen to at most 3,000, compared with 10,000 at one time, and there was a ’30 to 40 percent drop in investment in construction this […]

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Afghanistan publishes mining contracts in anti-graft fight

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Reuters, 14 October 2012 As the Afghan government finalizes new laws designed to attract more foreign mining investment, it made public 210 previously awarded contracts in the fields of mining and energy.

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U.S. Winds Down Afghanistan Aid Program

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Wall Street Journal, 10 October 2012 The closure of already five of over two dozen NATO PRTs ‘is effectively turning off the money flow to Afghanistan’s provinces’, the Journal reports. Of the once millions-strong Commander’s Emergency Response Program funds for PRT commanders (the Nangarhar PRT spent $24 million on projects in the province in 2010) […]

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Doubt Cast on Afghan Mining

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Wall Street Journal, 3 October 2012 According to this report, ‘researchers working for the U.S. military have concluded [in a draft report] that it could cost more than $54 billion to build and run a railway network across Afghanistan, a price [that] could make some large-scale mining economically unviable’. ‘Because of the daunting terrain between […]

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Afghan gold fever heats up


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The Independent, 29 September 2012 An interesting story about a man who was called to ‘help build an Afghanistan economy on the foundations of trillions of dollars-worth of copper and gold buried beneath its war-torn surface’ by a US State Department official and ‘a Wellington College-educated former SAS commander who is now chief executive at […]

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Records Missing on Afghan Army Fuel Costs

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New York Times, 10 September 2012 It is about 475 million USD, by the way. And now imagine what happens if an NGO cannot account for 0.001 per cent of it…

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Lack of Capacity and Capital: Is Afghanistan Under-Selling the Ainak Copper?

Gran Hewad •

Containing 240 million metric tons of ore at 2.3 per cent copper content, the Ainak mine is considered one of the largest deposits of this metal in the world. It is located in Muhammad Agha district of Logar province, about 30 kilometres south-east of the Afghan capital, and was contracted to a Chinese consortium in […]

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Guest Blog: Big Bucks for Big Players – Logistic fortunes of the Afghan war

Mohammad Jawad •

The logistics business is one of the most lucrative yet murkiest aspects of international security operations in Afghanistan. Involving backroom dealings and hundreds of millions of dollars, the stakes are high, as is the alleged involvement of the Afghan political elite. So who’s running the show, what are the scams, and what will happen as […]

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Latest Mining Discovery in Afghanistan: Information from EITI

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Revenue Watch blog, 17 August 2012 No, no new mines discovered, but data from the first GoA reports to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative: ‘The report reveals a reality that contrasts with the headlines: anemic sector contribution to public revenues and government challenges in overseeing oil, gas and mining sector payment.’ And it transpired that […]

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Rising kidnap cases spark strike in Herat City

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Pajhwok News Agency (Kabul), 8 August 2012 Workers of industrial companies, moneychangers, doctors, jewellers and traders went on strike in protest against rising kidnappings in western Herat province.

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Afghan Cabinet Raises Concern About Mining Legislation, to West’s Unease

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Afghan Cabinet Raises Concern About Mining Legislation, to West’s Unease New York Times, 23 July 2012 A group of Afghan cabinet ministers and senior officials last week objected to the draft legislation as kowtowing to foreign mining interests, reports the Times. And Ashraf Ghani is quoted on a crucial point: ‘Will the advisers [who helped […]

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