TASHKENT (TCA) — Uzbekistan attracted 5.6 billion U.S. dollars in foreign investments and loans in the first half of 2019, a fourfold increase compared to the same period of 2018, Xinhua news agency reports with reference to Uzbek authorities.
The investments consist of $2.1 billion in loans guaranteed by the Uzbek government and $3.5 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) and loans, according to the Uzbek Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade.
This year, 86 promising investment proposals have been developed, of which 12 proposals are at an initial stage of implementation, the ministry said.
Uzbekistan has been carrying out economic reforms in the last two years to attract foreign investment. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has tasked the government with increasing the volume of FDI up to 4.2 billion US dollars in 2019.
Under Uzbekistan’s 2019 Investment Program, capital investments in the amount of almost 14 billion US dollars are to be used for more than 3.2 thousand projects. In particular, 320 projects are projected to consume over 4 billion dollars in foreign direct investments, Uzbekistan’s official news agency Jahon reported earlier this year.
An important qualitative change is the fact that half of the foreign direct investments to be used in the current year are designated for provinces.
