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Uzbekistan. Athens, Greece 2-3 April, 2009. Country economic profile. Largest consumer market in Central Asia with population of about 27 mln; Stable economic environment: average GDP growth of 8% in 2004-2008;
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Uzbekistan Athens, Greece 2-3 April, 2009
Country economic profile • Largest consumer market in Central Asia with population of about 27 mln; • Stable economic environment: average GDP growth of 8% in 2004-2008; • Growing private sector: share of SMEs in GDP increased from 30% in 2000 to 48% in 2008; • Overall business environment is improving despite certain deficiencies in banking services, import regulations, access to inputs etc. • Selected Human Development indicators: • Adult literacy rate – 96.9%; • GDP per capita (PPP based) – 2189 USD.
Investment sectors • Agriculture and agro processing; • Furniture and fittings; • Transport infrastructure services; • Travel and tourism services.
Investment Sector Overview: Agricultural Sector • One of the largest agricultural producers, but only about 15% of its production is processed; • Sector is largely dominated by small producers: good basis for b2b cooperation; • Good opportunities for: • exports of fruits and vegetables (apples, grapes, tomatoes, peppers, mountain herbs etc); • processing of agricultural products (juices, nectars, concentrates etc). • investments into milk and meat processing.
Opportunities in Agriculture • Investment opportunity in juice and concentrates production: • Investment into creation of modern laboratory testing system in Uzbekistan. • Access to EU markets (supply chains) is required to support further expansion of production. • Investment opportunity in milk and meat processing: • Investment into production of quality yogurt, cheese, ice creams, sausages etc. • Introducing quality brand products in the domestic market, which is currently dominated by imported goods or low quality local foods.
Investment Sector Overview:furniture production • Market is highly segmented into imported luxury goods and low cost low quality goods; • There is strong demand for good quality affordable goods (medium segment); • There are a number of tax privileges for local production and their sales.
Opportunities in furniture sector • Investments required into production of furniture and promotion of locally produced brand products; • Local producers available for possible JV arrangments; • Good opportunities for B2B cooperation among producers and service providers.
Transport infrastructure services • 181 thousand km of developed automobile roads network in Uzbekistan; • Over 700 million tons of international cargo, more than 4 million passengers annually transported via automobile roads; • Transport infrastructure services are concentrated in major cities, while services along major highways are not developed.
PPP opportunities in transportinfrastructure services • Creation of roadside infrastructure along Great Silk Road, consisting of the following services: • Motel, mini market, restaurant, pharmacy, auto repair services, parking etc • In total 8 service points along “Tashkent-Samarkand-Bukhara-Khiva” highways are identified for development, project documentation is available; • Estimated budget of the project is Euro 4 mln., of which 30% is own funds of project initiators «KARVON SAROY SERVIS».
Investment Sector Overview:Travel and Tourism Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva……etc with over 4000 historical monuments and sites; Opportunities for other types of travel and tourism such as ecotourism, mountains etc Over 2 mln visitors every year, including large number of people from Germany, France, Belgium, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia; Uzbek Airways has direct flights and good connections with all major international airports.
Opportunities in Tourism Sector Investment and partnership opportunity for creation of hotel operating company: • Setting up hotel operating company, possibly by entering into franchising agreement with foreign brands; • Creation of central reservation system (CRS) connecting to hotels, tour operators, airways, transport firms, etc • European partners required to support the project and its integration into international markets (hotel chains, booking systems).
Contact Info: Mr. Narzullo Oblomurodov Project Manager “Business Forum of Uzbekistan” Project UNDP / UZBEK CHAMBER of COMMERCE and INDUSTRY Tel. +998 71 2320894 Fax. +998 71 2337749 Email. narzullo.oblomurodov@chamber.uz Uzbekistan