The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is expanding its regional presence in Uzbekistan by opening a new local office in Urgench, its third in the country. Urgench is a major municipality in the west of the country.
Samarkand, one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia, which prospered from its location on the Silk Road trade route between China and the Mediterranean, has become the first city in Uzbekistan to boost its urban sustainability planning by joining the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s €3-billion flagship programme, EBRD Green Cities.
On 4 June 2021, S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on its long-term ratings on Uzbekistan to stable from negative. At the same time, we affirmed the ‘BB-/B’ long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and JSСB Hamkorbank signed a loan for $20 million equivalent in Uzbek sum to expand access to credit for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and agricultural borrowers.
Uzbekistan’s chemicals and fertilizers sector has huge potential for growth, but turning it into a modern industry that can support the country’s needs and develop its export potential requires the right government reforms and private sector investments.
Uzbekistan’s public debt as of April 1, 2021 decreased by US$ 133.7 million - to US$ 23.2 billion, or 40.1% to GDP, the Ministry of Finance said in a report.
The Finance Minister Timur Ishmetov spoke about the privatization of state-owned banks in Uzbekistan at a meeting with young people at the Five Initiatives Movement event in Tashkent yesterday.
The World Bank's leadership expressed its readiness to support the Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway project and to attract other international financial institutions, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade (MIFT) said.
The government of Uzbekistan’s plans to develop 8 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030 have received a major boost following the approval of an €87.4 million financing package jointly organised by, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European investment Bank (EIB) and PROPARCO, a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement. The funds will be used to construct and put into operation a 100 MW photovoltaic solar power plant near the city of Samarkand.
On April 30, the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke about the problems and corruption in the banking sector at a meeting on the development of industry in the provinces.
On April 27, UzAuto Motors issued its first international Eurobonds of the RegS /144A format in the worth of $ 300 million for a period of 5 years on the London Stock Exchange, the press service of the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan said.
On April 27, the first 5-year government securities were issued at the e-trading on the Uzbek Currency Exchange, the Ministry of Finance said.
While the pandemic hit Uzbekistan’s economy especially hard in the first half of 2020 and inflicted considerable hardship, the recession was moderated by strong and timely containment and support measures. These included a forceful public health response and the deployment of a set of fiscal, monetary, and financial measures, made possible by substantial buffers owing to prudent macro-economic policies in preceding years, and thanks also to sizable international support.
On April 22, Uzauto Motors, with the support of the Ministry of Finance, announced the upcoming issue of US$ 300 million worth of maiden international bonds and holding teleconferences with potential investors, the Ministry of Finance said in a statment.
On April 22, the Board of the Central Bank decided to keep the interest rate at 14% per annum, the Bank said. “This decision was aimed at balancing the decline in inflation and supporting economic activity in the context of economic recovery, as well as to maintain the slowing inflation and inflation expectations against the backdrop of risks of rising food prices in foreign markets,” the Central Bank said in a release.
On April 16, Deputy Finance Minister Odilbek Isoqov and the Japanese Ambassador Yoshinori Fujiyama signed US$ 195 million worth of exchange notes to implement a development policy support program, the Embassy said.
The President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree on measures to further develop the capital market. The Decree approved the program for development of the capital market for 2021–2023, the target figures to be achieved as a result of the implementation of the program, the roadmap for the implementation of the development program, as well as the list of enterprises whose shares are subject to public offering through the stock exchange in 2021–2023.
The Chairman of the Roseximbank Azer Talibov offered Uzbekistan to develop settlements in national currencies. “We all have different trading modes, we understand what trends are taking place and who dominates in this segment. If we want to build a serious platform for the development of our bilateral and multilateral relations, it is important for us to develop a system of settlements in national currencies,” Talibov said.
The Ministry of Finance, Uztransgaz, VEB.RF, the Russian Agency for Insurance of Export Credits and Investments and Gazprombank have agreed to cooperate on the implementation of the Uzbekistan’s gas transportation system modernization project, VEB.RF’s press service said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan issued the Measures for privatization and transformation Uzsanoatqurilishbank with the participation of the International Financial Corporation Resolution.