UzbekistanUzbekistanAthens, Greece2-3 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.

• 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.

Investment Sector Overview: Agricultural Sector

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 OblomurodovProject Manager

“Business Forum of Uzbekistan” ProjectUNDP / UZBEK CHAMBER of COMMERCE and INDUSTRY

Tel. +998 71 2320894 Fax. +998 71 2337749Email. narzullo.oblomurodov@chamber.uz

Uzbekistan