Monthly Economic & Commercial Report of Uzbekistan
Economic & Commercial Report for February 2014
No. TAS/201/1/2012
13 March, 2014
General
According to the State Committee of Statistics, Govt. of Uzbekistan, the GDP of the country was approximately equivalent to US$ 55 Billion in 2013 (Jan-Dec 2013) with a GDP growth rate of 8% over 2012. While the share of the state in GDP was 17.2%, the share of the non-state sector was 82.2% of GDP. The GDP structure for 2013 shows similar pattern as in 2012 with non-state sector dominating the economy.
2. Visit of Pharmexcil delegation from India
A delegation of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India(Pharmexcil) comprising 27 members representing 25 pharmaceutical companies visited Uzbekistan from 9 to 12 February 2014. The visit was aimed at strengthening trade-economic cooperation between India and Uzbekistan in the field of pharmaceuticals, establishing direct business contacts and discussing various forms of bilateral cooperation. A Business-to-Business (B2B) meeting was held on 10 February bringing together business circles of the two countries for further development of business in pharmaceutical products.
3. UzbekNefteGaz and Enerco Distribuzione S.p.A discuss cooperation in oil and gas industry An Italian delegation consisting of representatives from Enerco Distribuzione S.p.A held talks with UzbekNeftgaz on 19 February 2014 to discuss prospects of bilateral cooperation in oil and gas industry. During the talks the Italian side emphasized the high interest among Italian companies in the fuel and energy sector of Uzbekistan.
4. Petrofac to study opportunity to increase oil mining in Uzbekistan
British company Petrofac will study opportunities to develop oil fields in Uzbekistan, sources close to the company said. A delegation from Petrofac will visit Uzbekistan in March 2014. During the visit, representatives of the company will discuss perspectives of joint projects with the Uzbek side. Petrofac is planning to assess oil fields and prepare proposals of oil production on a long-term basis.
Note : Uzbekneftegaz is planning to allocate US$235 million in 2012-2020 to increase oil production. The company is planning to implement a project for deep drilling with foreign collaboration. The project is expected to extract up to 300,000 tonnes of oil a year].
5. Uzbekistan prepares projects on developing iron ore field in 2014
According to sources in Uzbek Metallurgy Combine, a project has been planned for during the current year to extract titanium-magnetite ore at Tebinbulak in Karakalpakstan at a cost of about US$3 billion. Russian analysts have found this one to be technically suitable for production of steel. According to estimates of the State Committee of Geology and Mineral Resources, the project envisages creation of a mining complex for production of 1.5 million tonnes of iron a year. The project with the preliminary cost of US$3 billion will be financed through foreign loans and internal resources.
6. Belam Riga/ CNTIC and Uzbekistan Temir Yollari sign contract on equipment supply
Latvia’s Belam Riga signed a contract with State joint stock railway company Uzbekistan Temir Yollari to supply equipment for electrification of the railroad line Maraqand-Qarshi in southern Uzbekistan at a cost of about US$40 million. Within the contract Belam Riga will deliver systems of signalization, centralization and blocking, telecommunication and SCADA(Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system). In a separate contract with China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) within the same project, CNTIC will supply equipment for electrification of railroad “Maraqand-Qarshi” with a total cost of about US$30 million. The contract includes supply of transformer sub-stations and contact system by the Chinese company.
7. Uzbek and British Commerce Chambers sign cooperation agreement
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan and the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce of Great Britain signed an Agreement of Cooperation in London. According to the agreement, the two sides will assist each other in developing cooperation and promoting commercial exchanges between the two countries. The agreement also provides for marketing and advertisement researches, exchange of investment marketing information and export proposals between the two countries.
8. Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Oman start final stage of procedures on creation of international corridor
Processes have commenced for implementation of international transport and transit corridor between Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Oman. The new transport corridor will run from Uzbekistan across Turkmenistan and then to the Gulf via Iran, bypassing Afghanistan. According to the Uzbek side, the establishment of this transport corridor will help to create important transport network among the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Central Asian countries.
9. Uzbek government approves rules for labelling imported consumer goods
The Government of Uzbekistan vide resolution dated 4 February 2014 approved rules making labelling of imported consumer goods in the State language as mandatory. However, products, imported as samples for exhibitions and tests, research and marketing, are exempted from such a requirement. The Government of Uzbekistan has included 44 products to the list which includes products like meat, vegetables, milk products, eggs, natural honey, fat and oil of animal and plant origin, sugar and confectionery products from sugar. As regards medicines, imported packaged medicines should have labels in the State language.
10. Belgium’s Picanol to set up textile equipment project in Uzbekistan
Belgium’s Picanol is implementing an investment project for production of textile equipment in Uzbekistan. Picanol signed a memorandum of understanding with Uzbekyengilsanoat in this regard.
