Foreign investments as a source of financing sectors of the economy Plan

Analysis of financial reports and indicators of the foreign investments

Uzbekistan has been pursuing comprehensive economic and social reforms aimed at boosting growth, expanding international relations, and creating favorable legal conditions for foreign direct investments (FDI). The country’s strategic geographic position, abundant and diverse natural resources, and sizable domestic market of 33 million people represent enormous potential for investment and growth. The Government of Uzbekistan is prioritizing the increase of FDI to stimulate the growth of businesses and bring in modern technologies with the ultimate goal of improving the well-being of its citizens.

“As Uzbekistan is turning into a full-fledged member of the international business community, the value of attracting foreign investments cannot be overstated and we are determined to take every step so foreign investor feel welcome and confident in Uzbekistan,” says Minister of Justice Ruslan Davletov.

The government’s efforts to facilitate the entry of foreign businesses into Uzbekistan’s economy are already paying off. In the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 ranking, Uzbekistan was among the top 20 most improved economies on the ease of doing business score. However, despite the promising analyses and recognition, certain challenges remain. Particularly, foreign businesses have found the process of signing investment agreements with their business counterparts in Uzbekistan to be extremely bureaucratic and unpredictable due to the lack of a single model investment agreement. Additionally, clauses in bilateral investment treaties were often considered outdated and in need of re-alignment with international standards.¹⁴

In January-June 2017 the total volume of utilized investments in fixed capital was 26599,5 billion sums (USD 7,5 billion in dollar equivalent) or 108,3 percent to the corresponding period of the previous year. The ratio of the volume of investments in fixed capital to the GDP was 25,9 percent or 0,1 percentage points lower than in January-June 2016. Distribution of investments in fixed capital by forms of ownership in January-June 2017 is presented below:

	Total	Of which enterprise of: