Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 25
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
Uzbekistan is planning to get $4.1 billion in foreign direct investment in 2019, which is almost 71 percent more compared to 2018 ($2.4 billion), Deputy Chairman of the State Investment Committee of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Vafayev told Trend.
He said that many changes have been made in Uzbekistan in 2018 to further improve the investment climate, in particular, a number of tax and financial reforms were implemented.
“As a result, foreign companies are showing more and more interest in investing in various sectors of the economy in Uzbekistan. By Oct. 1, 2018, the number of enterprises with foreign capital operating in the country reached 6960, which is 29.6 percent (1,590) more than a year before. Of these, 3,764 are joint ventures, 3,196 are foreign enterprises,” Vafayev said.
He added that the main investor countries are Russia, Turkey, China, Kazakhstan and South Korea. The residents of Afghanistan, India, Germany, Ukraine and Azerbaijan also show interest in investing in Uzbekistan.
“In only nine months of 2019, some 1,652 enterprises with foreign capital were established. The volume of foreign direct investments in 2018 is projected at $2.4 billion. In 2019, it is planned to get $4.1 billion of foreign direct investments,” the deputy chairman said.
Vafayev noted that tourism, agriculture, light industry, construction industry, oil and gas industry, etc. have recently become the most popular sectors of the economy among foreign investors.
He underlined that Uzbekistan is interested in expanding diverse investment cooperation in such industries and spheres as energy, aircraft, transport, water management, chemical industry, etc.
“Another promising area is the processing of agricultural products and food production. The average annual growth rate of food production in our country is 9-10 percent. In addition, the consistent implementation of measures to develop and diversify the industry over the past five years has ensured the expansion of the resource base and increased production volumes,” Vafayev said.
He added that Uzbekistan increased production of fruits, vegetables and grapes 1.6 times in 2018, meat products – 1.4 times, dairy products – 1.4 times.
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