Thursday, 28, March, 2024

Finances

The Central Bank at the board meeting decided to keep the interest rate at 15% per annum, the press service of the regulator said.

A new World Bank report provides policy recommendations for Uzbekistan on how to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) and create new sources of economic growth. The study, released recently, will contribute to the preparation of the country’s new FDI strategy in support of its development goals over the next five years.

The Central Bank on Friday announced the revocation of licenses for the right to carry out banking activities from two private joint-stock commercial banks - Turkiston and Hi-Tech Bank.

Speculation and hedging operations are being performed at the currency exchange (UzRCE) for the first time by means of purchase and sale transactions with currency futures contracts.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million loan to help promote food security, provide social protection for vulnerable groups, and support employment in Uzbekistan amid the economic impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Anna, Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, visited Uzbekistan from September 29 to October 2, 2022, as part of a broader trip to Central Asia. Ms. Bjerde met with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as senior government officials, and beneficiaries of a World Bank-funded project that is helping improve rural infrastructure in Uzbekistan.

President signed the Sep. 27 Measures to implement the project “Water Resources Management in the Aral Sea Basin, Taking into Account Adaptation to Climate Change” with the participation of the Asian Development Bank Decree.

Korea Republic-based Kyongnam Bank plans to expand its presence in Uzbekistan and open a subsidiary bank specializing in digital banking services, announced the bank’s CEO, Choi Hong Yong, at a meeting with the leadership of the Uzbek Central Bank (CB).

The unified Uzbek processing center Uzcard is continuing to accept cards of the Mir payment system, including co-badged cards. The administration of Uzcard announced this on Wednesday in a statement.

Foreign banks that previously accepted Mir cards, following Turkish banks, stopped working with the Russian payment system, Izvestia said on Wednesday.

Uzbekistan and the Asian Development Bank have agreed to sign an agreement for two projects worth $650 million before the year-end, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade said.

Amid overlapping global crises, IFC continues to focus its efforts on leveraging the private sector for inclusive and sustainable development in Central Asia. In fiscal year 2022, which ended on June 30, IFC provided $468 million in Central Asia aimed at expanding access to finance, improving infrastructure and connectivity, and addressing climate change, in line with IFC’s strategic priorities in the region. That work came alongside milestone advisory engagements to bolster key sectors, like agriculture and energy, structure public-private partnerships, and promote gender diversity.

In spite of the amount of Uzbekistan’s gold reserve republic increasing by more than 9 tons, its monetary value to decrease due to the drop of gold price quotations in the world financial market. The decrease in the price of gold resulted in the Central Bank not exporting it since March.

Since September 12, at least two Uzbek banks have tightened the terms for issuing bank cards to non-residents. According to the press service of Kapitalbank, the bank’s administration tightened compliance control in order to ensure transparency of cash flows and bank operations.

The Board of the Central Bank decided to keep the interest rate at 15%, the regulator said in a statement. The annual price growth rate slowed down in July-August, but exceeded the figures for the same period last year. Also, inflation expectations in the economy, despite the decline compared to the level in May, are still 14-15%.

IFC has finalized an agreement to finance the first wind power plant in Uzbekistan, a 500-megawatt facility in the Navoi region that will power hundreds of thousands of homes. IFC’s investment will support Uzbekistan’s efforts to strengthen its electricity supply, diversify its energy mix with clean energy, and address climate-change-related challenges.

On September 1, the grant agreement was signed by Balthazar Lindauer, Director of the EBRD Nuclear Safety Department, and Narzullo Oblomurodov, Chairman of the State Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection of Uzbekistan.

On September 12, trading in the Uzbek Soum-Russian Ruble (UZS/RUB) currency pair was launched on the Moscow Exchange, he press service of the Moscow Exchange said.

Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Jamshid Khojaev yesterday hosted a delegation led by Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Keithiro Nakazawa.

Workshop on road safety governance, planning and management to support the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) was held on August 23, for ministries and agencies involved in road safety, such as Ministry of Transport, Committee for Roads, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Finance, MIFT, and Ministry of Health. The agenda of the meeting included presentations in status of Road Safety, actions to decrease death and injuries on accidents, development of National road safety policy, road safety management actions and group negotiations.