(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 29. In 2022 the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested
almost US$ 900 million (€839 million) in 26 projects in Uzbekistan,
making it the leading recipient of its funding in Central Asia for
the third year running. Investments were made in sectors ranging
from renewable energy to banking, trend reports via the statement of EBRD.
The EBRD continued working on the improvement of the investment
climate in Uzbekistan by facilitating the first plenary session of
the Foreign Investors' Council, which will serve as a platform for
dialogue between foreign investors and the authorities fostering
reforms.
The EBRD, which became fully aligned with the Paris Agreement at
the start of 2023, continued providing support for Uzbekistan's
green transition. The EBRD arranged two syndicated loans
collectively worth US$ 520 million to help construct and put into
operation two wind power plants with a total installed capacity of
1 GW in the Bukhara region.
This financing is the EBRD's largest renewable energy project to
date across its regions.
The Bank also organised a financing package of US$ 74 million
for the development, construction and operation of a 500 MW
greenfield wind power plant in the Navoi region of Uzbekistan. This
was the first project in Central Asia to use the Identiflight able
to detect and monitor species at risk of collision and trigger an
automatic curtailment of selected turbines.
The EBRD and the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty
Reduction of Uzbekistan agreed to jointly develop a national
methane emissions programme, which will become a key planning tool
for achieving the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) objective of reducing
methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. Last year Uzbekistan
became only the second country in Central Asia to join the GMP.
Outside the energy sector the EBRD extended long-term sovereign
loans collectively worth up to US$ 120 million for the regional
utility companies responsible for solid waste management in Khorezm
and Karakalpakstan. The project will contribute to Uzbekistan's
decarbonisation efforts in line with the Paris Agreement and
support the national solid waste management strategy.
In the financial sector the EBRD increased new trade finance
limits worth US$ 210 million for Asakabank, Ipoteka Bank, the
National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan and SQB
Bank. The deal will better enable private domestic businesses,
including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to import
necessary goods, services and equipment and to export their
products. A financial package of US$ 10 million provided by the
EBRD to Ipak Yuli Bank will improve access to green technologies
for local households and SMEs and promote women's entrepreneurship.
The EBRD also invested additional capital of US$ 7 million in TBC
Bank Uzbekistan and entered a US$ 20 million cross-currency swap
with Uzbekistan, which will help the country to develop the
derivatives market and hedge currency risk arising from foreign
currency borrowing.
The Bank channelled €14 million into supporting operations of
the country's leading brewer, UzCarlsberg, and provided US$ 15
million to Tashkent Pipe Plant, which will be able to launch the
production of longitudinal submerged arc-welded pipes. Jointly with
SQB Bank, the EBRD is supporting the expansion of one of the
country's leading retailers of consumer electronics and household
appliances, Idea Concept Group.
A €7 million grant provided by the Environmental Remediation
Account for Central Asia (ERA), managed by the EBRD, will finance
environmental remediation works at two former uranium mining sites
– Yangiabad and Charkesar – located in the mountains to the east of
the capital Tashkent.
In 2022 the EBRD's Advice for Small Business Programme in
Uzbekistan launched almost 100 advisory projects thus increasing
its outreach to domestic SMEs by 50 per cent. Half of them were
with women entrepreneurs and over 40 per cent were in rural areas.
More than 10,000 entrepreneurs around the country were reached
through specialised trainings, networking and knowledge sharing
events. Loans were extended to a number of local companies
including a furniture producer Gulobod Mebel, a dairy company Tillo
Domor and an electronic goods retailer Sifat-Biznes-Savdo.
Uzbekistan will host the EBRD's 32nd Annual Meeting and Business
Forum, which will take place in Samarkand on 16 to 18 May 2023. The
event is the largest of its kind for the regions where the Bank
invests and is accompanied by an international Business Forum.
To date, the EBRD has invested almost €3.9 billion in 128
projects across the country.