Wednesday, 11, December, 2024

Finances

Standard Chartered and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank Group (MIGA) announce today EUR 114 million financing for the Joint-stock company National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan (NBU), the largest bank in Uzbekistan. This is MIGA’s first guarantee against the risk of non-honoring of financial obligations by a state-owned enterprise in Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan and the Asian Development Bank signed a memorandum on the implementation of the country program for 2025–2027, which provides for the implementation of projects totaling $3.5 billion, the press service of the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade reported.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting micro, small and medium-sized businesses and improving access to finance for young entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan by providing a financial package of up to US$ 20 million (€18.8 million) to a major private lender, Ipak Yuli Bank.

The EBRD and the government of Uzbekistan agreed to work jointly on the successful privatisation of one of the country’s largest state-owned lenders Asakabank.

The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renaud-Basso, will visit Uzbekistan from 1 to 3 May 2024 for meetings with senior government officials and foreign investors.

Harsher rules for foreign currency transactions will apply for state-owned companies in Uzbekistan, the governor of the Central Bank, Mamarizo Nurmuratov confirmed at a press conference on Thursday.

The Ministry of Energy and the World Bank jointly hosted an event marking the official launch of the Clean Energy for Buildings Project. This project will be implemented by the Ministry of Energy with the World Bank’s financial support. It aims to boost energy efficiency in public buildings and create a better framework for clean energy investments in the buildings sector. During the event, government officials, private sector, and media were informed about the project's purpose, objectives, and activities.

Saudi ACWA Power has secured an $80 mln loan from the Bank of China, marking a milestone in its Uzbekistan initiatives. The loan, split equally between Chinese yuan and U.S. dollars, represents the first loan cooperation deal by a bank from China using its native currency involving a company from Saudi Arabia.

Uzbekistan government and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are jointly spearheading eight transformative projects valued at €815mn, the government portal of Uzbekistan said. These projects span across major sectors including water supply, education, energy, road reconstruction, transport, and solid waste processing.

Fitch Ratings highlighted at its recent conference on Uzbekistan in Tashkent that since the publication of the country's comprehensive banking sector reform strategy in May 2020, state-owned banks had made some notable progress in shifting the emphasis towards a more market-oriented approach at the heart of their business models. While, achieving further positive changes may take longer due to deep structural weaknesses and new risks in the sector.

The privatization of state-owned banks in Uzbekistan may be postponed to a later date, Pavel Kaptel, the Deputy Director of Fitch Ratings for Financial Institutions said at a conference in Tashkent in early March.

Payment through cash could be limited and wholesale sale of a number of items could be shifted to non-cash payment. This was discussed at a presentation made to the president on February 13.

Persons under economic sanctions may be prohibited from opening accounts in Uzbek banks. The respective bill was passed in the first reading by the Legislative Chamber at the meeting on Tuesday.

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In 2023 Uzbekistan remained the leading recipient of the EBRD funding in the region for the fourth year running by attracting over €700 million (US$ 760 million). The EBRD financed 27 projects in sectors ranging from renewable energy to sustainable infrastructure. 69 per cent of them were in the private sector and nearly 70 per cent of these investments were green.

The BOD of the Central Bank at its Jan. 25 meeting, the interest rate was kept unchanged at 14% per annum, the press service of the Central Bank said.

As part of the program of the visit in Beijing, president Shavkat Mirziyoyev met the Chairman of the China Export-Import Bank Wu Fulin.

Today, the president Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks with the president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Jin Liqun as part of the business program of his state visit to China, the presidential press service said.

The Central Bank has registered the Eurasian Bank, the regulator’s press service reported. Subsidiary of the Kazakh bank was issued a license for banking activities.

For the second month in a row, Uzbekistan remained the largets gold seller in the world, the World Gold Council said. Global central bank gold reserves rose by 44 tons in November, according to International Monetary Fund and public data. Net gold purchases (60 tons) significantly outweighed gross sales (15 tons) as demand from central banks kept its momentum.