TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, December 20. Value of Kazakhstan's accumulated investments in Uzbekistan amounted to $285 million over the first half of 2023, latest Eurasian Development Bank's (EDB) Report on Mutual Investments says, Trend reports.
As per EDB, the number of active Kazakh projects implemented in Uzbekistan stands at 9 as of the period from January through June of 2023.
A significant portion of investments in Uzbekistan is attributed to the establishment of Tenge Bank's subsidiary by Kazakh People's Bank, with a foreign direct investment (FDI) exceeding $100 million. The EDB also noted that the appeal of the Uzbek cement plants for the Kazakh United Cement Group investor, whose assets, represented by Kuvasaycement and Bekabadcement, are estimated at $19 million.
In the mutual direct investments of the Eurasian region in 2023, Kazakh RTC Holding committed to invest $70 million by 2026 in the construction of a logistics center at the border between the two countries. The company has also expressed its preliminary intention to invest up to $230 million by 2034 to implement the second phase of the project.
Earlier this year, Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Arman Shakkaliyev and Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov have signed an agreement on regulating the activities of the "Central Asia" international center for industrial cooperation, which is being created on the border of the two countries.
The launch of the center will help increase trade turnover between countries to $10 billion, according to estimates.
The trade turnover between the countries amounted to $2.19 billion from January through July 2023, which is 7.5 percent of the total trade turnover of Uzbekistan. In terms of total trade turnover, Uzbekistan exported goods worth $699.3 million to Kazakhstan, and imports amounted to $1.496 billion.