Friday, 26, April, 2024

Finances

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Uzbekistan as well as domestic companies active in international trade will have additional funds available for their operations, thanks to a new financing programme offered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Bank Ipak Yuli, the country’s major privately owned lender.

The Board of the Central Bank on Thursday cut the interest rate by 1 percentage point to 14% per annum. This decision was due to the projected slowdown in the inflation, to the need to maintain positive real interest rates in the economy, as well as to achieve a balance between the inflation target and the maintenance of economic activity in the light of the pandemic,” the regulator noted.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) delivered to the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan another batch of supply worth $952,000.

After the lockdown measures were relaxed, the flow of funds to banks increased, the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Behzod Khamroev said at a press briefing Monday, adding that cash flow could catch pre-lockdown figures in the next 1-2 months.

An agreement was signed between the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and the Central Bank of the Republic of Korea (Bank of Korea) on Knowledge Partnership Program, the Uzbekistan Central Bank said.

The Uzbek Capital Market Development Agency issued an advisory license to Deloitte representative office in Uzbekistan.

The National Interbank Processing Center LLC (NIPC - Uzcard brand) has once again changed the ownership, it follows from the data of the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million loan to strengthen Uzbekistan’s resilience to public health emergencies, including the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, by steadily improving testing, diagnosis, and the management of COVID-19 cases over the next two years.

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan entered into agreements with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to implement two projects aimed at improving the regulatory environment for the development of electronic and digital financial services and realizing programs to improve financial literacy, the press service of the regulator reported.

The Japanese government and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will donate US$ 7.25 million for the second project to improve locust management in Central Asia, the Japanese Embassy in Uzbekistan said.

In January-June 2020, the average monthly salary before tax in Uzbekistan was at 2.5 million soums (240 USD), a 21.6% increase compared to the same period in 2019, the State Statistics Committee said in a report.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has delivered more medical supplies and equipment to Uzbekistan as part of its commitment to help the government respond to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has announced the volume of gold and foreign exchange reserves. As of July 1, Uzbekistan's official gold and foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$ 32.3 billion, with monetary gold at US$ 19.4 billion and foreign exchange - US$ 12.4 billion, while in the beginning of the year, the figure was at US$ 29.1 billion.

The Central Bank keeps interest rate unchanged at 15% per annum, the CB said in a statement. Following the regular meeting held on Thursday, the CB Board announced that the interest rate shall be set at 15% per annum.

On July 21, Deputy Foreign Minister Furqat Sidiqov held talks with Deputy Director General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Marwan Abdullah al-Ghanim (KFAED), the Foreign Ministry said.

The European Union launched today a comprehensive EUR 3 million Central Asia COVID-19 Crisis Response (CACCR) solidarity package, addressing the needs of Central Asian countries. Implemented by the World Health Organization the CACCR programme will provide support to mitigate the current outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also contribute towards longer-term resilience of the national health systems of the Central Asian countries by increasing their capacities to respond to similar public health threats, should they occur in the future.

The largest bank in Hungary, OTP Bank, plans to enter the Uzbek market. The prospects for opening a bank in the country were discussed at a meeting between the Uzbekistan Deputy PM Sardor Umurzakov and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjártó in Tashkent.

The European Union and the French Development Agency (FDA) on July 10 approved funding of 1.5 million euros for a safe medical waste disposal project in Samarkand, the agency’s said.

US$500 million agriculture modernization project finance agreement was signed with the World Bank on July 11. On behalf of Uzbekistan, the agreement was signed by the Deputy PM/Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov, while on behalf of the World Bank, Regional Director for Central Asia Lilia Burunciuc.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa and Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade, and ADB Governor Sardor Umurzakov today discussed ADB’s ongoing support for Uzbekistan’s fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the bank’s portfolio of projects in the country.