July 31, 2009
Politics:
CSTO leaders consider security
Economics:
President sets new tasks to expand investment activity of banks
Uzbek-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission holds 3rd session in Tashkent
Ipoteka-bank issued 211 billion soums worth of credits in 1H 2009
Society:
Training "Start your business" to be held within ACCESS project
Higher education institutions of Uzbekistan will hold entrance tests
Ferghana Roundtable Addresses Spirituality of Youth Problem
Job fair opens in Tashkent
POLICY
CSTO LEADERS CONSIDER SECURITY
President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov arrived in Cholpon-Ata of Kyrgyzstan on July 31 to participate in the informal summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
In the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, presidents of Uzbekistan, Armenia, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan participated, National News Agency UzA reported.
They considered issues of improving the efficiency of the CSTO activity, strengthening regional and international security, as well as information security.
ECONOMY
PRESIDENT SETS NEW TASKS TO EXPAND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY OF BANKS
President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov signed a resolution on July 28 to carry out additional measures to stimulate the increase of the share of long-term credits of commercial banks directed on financing of investment projects.
The document is aimed at stimulation of expansion of investment activity of commercial banks, strengthening of their resource base for the increase of the volumes of financing of long-term investment projects focused on modernization, technical and technological re-equipment of the economy industries, Uzreport Information Portal reported.
The resolution set the following important tasks for commercial banks in the field of expansion of investment activity:
• further improvement of credit and investment policy of the bank and mechanisms of long-term crediting of investment projects on creation of new productions, modernization, technical and technological re-equipment of enterprises, strengthening on this basis of long-term resource base of the bank;
• ensuring careful selection, complex estimation and quality expertise of investment projects on the basis of profound analysis of project documentation, their financial payback and profitability;
• mobilization of own financial resources and their effective usage for the financing of investment projects, ensuring constant monitoring of the projects implementation, timely and complete return of invested funds;
• wide use of reliable mechanisms of ensuring timeliness and completeness of return of allocated credits taking into account the in-depth evaluation of risks, market cost of the pledge and other types of guarantees;
• providing the banks' divisions carrying out investment activity with professional highly skilled staff, cardinally increase the quality of retraining and training of the bank's specialists on issues of selection, expertise and implementation of investment projects.
The document has established an order stipulating that commercial banks pay profit tax at the rates differentiated depending on the share of long-term investment financing in the structure of credit portfolio. This order shall be effective until 1 January 2015. Finance Ministry, Central Bank and State Tax Committee have one month to prepare and approve the Regulations on the order of application of these tax preferences.
Commercial banks have been recommended to introduce in their practice the allocation to enterprises and organizations – initiators of large investment projects – of credits for financing of expenses on elaboration of necessary project estimate documentation and conducting expertise with their further inclusion in the total amount of credit given for the project financing as a whole.
UZBEK-VIETNAMESE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION HOLDS 3RD SESSION IN TASHKENT
A delegation led by the Deputy Industry and Trade Minister of Vietnam Le Zan Vin has visited Uzbekistan to participate in the third session of the Uzbek-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation.
The delegation also held bilateral meetings in various ministries and departments of Uzbekistan to discuss issues of further expansion of cooperation, Jahon Information Agency reported.
"Relations between Uzbekistan and Vietnam always have friendly character," Le Zan Vin said. "Uzbekistan is well familiar to Vietnamese people, many of whom have got here education and are holding now supervising posts in various branches of our country. We highly appreciate the friendship tested by time with our sincere, friendly and always hospitable Uzbek people".
During the session in Tashkent the sides have set the basic priority directions of mutual cooperation of both countries for the forthcoming period. As one of directions the sides defined foreign trade, providing increase in goods turnover.
In particular, Vietnam can export tropical, agricultural products, seafood, light industry products – sewing, textile products and footwear. In turn Uzbekistan can export cotton, fertilizers, silk, building materials, different technical facilities. Vietnam is interested in escalating of perspective trade and economic and investment cooperation with Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan has considerable potential in the field of exploration and production of oil and gas. Businesses of the two countries have made initial steps on teamwork in oil and gas sphere. Vietnam plans to participate in investment projects in the oil-and-gas sector of Uzbekistan through its Petrovietnam Company having operational experience on oil wells in 20 countries worldwide.
Another direction is cooperation in the field of agrarian sector. Uzbekistan is known all over the world as the supplier of various types of agricultural products, including cotton in which acquisition Vietnam is extremely interested. Vietnam is also the largest manufacturer and supplier of tropical, agricultural products, such as rice, natural rubber, coffee, tea, seafood.
"We hope for active cooperation in the field of science and education, professional training and exchange of educational programs. Considering that more than 3,000 Vietnamese people studied in high schools of Uzbekistan, we could continue successful cooperation in this sphere, having come into direct contacts between high schools and research establishments of our countries. Along with these spheres, important directions are also culture, sports and tourism," the Vietnamese diplomat added.
IPOTEKA-BANK ISSUED 211 BILLION SOUMS WORTH OF CREDITS IN 1H 2009
Ipoteka-bank has summed up the results of activity in the first half of 2009. The bank actively carried out measures on increase of capitalization. Thus, own funds of the bank grew 7.3% (7 billion soums) in the reporting period and have made up 103 billion soums.
In line with the general shareholders' meeting on results of 2008 Ipoteka-bank's reserve fund has been replenished with 40% of the bank's net profit (6 billion soums).
In January-June 2009, Ipoteka-bank issued credits to economic entities and individuals worth a total of 211.3 billion soums. The balance of credit investments of the bank as of 1 July 2009 comprised 359.4 billion soums. The share of credit investments in the bank's total assets made up 54.8%.
Ipoteka-bank assists actively the development of small and private business. As of 1 July 2009, the bank's functional divisions were serving 51,915 small business entities. In all, the bank's branches allocated some 77.9 billion soums to support this sector.
The volume of Ipoteka-bank's loans to small businesses exceeded 91 billion soums as of 1 July 2009, which is 25.3% of the total sum of credit investments. Some 3,870 work places have been created thanks to the credits issued to small business sector support.
In the first half of 2009, Ipoteka-bank continued work on expansion of mortgage crediting. During this period the bank issued mortgage credits to 600 individuals worth 15.6 million soums for buying houses/apartments, as well as construction and reconstruction of own houses.
In the reporting period the bank continued developing the system of cashless payments, including due to increase of the volume of transactions through plastic cards in national currency. As of 1 July 2009, the bank was serving 504,800 plastic cards, 2,947 units of terminal equipment, 11 ATMs. In the first six months of 2009 the bank emitted additionally 4,500 plastic cards and installed 4 new ATMS in densely-populated points of Tashkent.
The sum of transaction on plastic cards reached 187.4 billion soums in 1H 2009, while cashless payments made up 85.4 billion soums, which is 3.5 times more than in 1H 2008. The balance on cards as of 1 July 2009 comprised 26.1 billion soums, which is 1.5 times (15.9 billion soums) more on the year-on-year basis.
SOCIETY
TRAINING "START YOUR BUSINESS" TO BE HELD WITHIN ACCESS PROJECT
A training course on the "Establishment of social enterprises within NGOs and social organizations in the aim of employment of people with disabilities (PWDs)" will be conducted in Tashkent, according to Uzreport Information Portal.
It has been organized within the joint project "ACCESS: promoting Accessibility, Civic Consciousness, Employment, and Social Support for people with disabilities" of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the UNDP Uzbekistan.
Social enterprises are identified as private, separate entrepreneurship providing goods and services with concrete aim to benefit to community. Income is not the main goal for these enterprises. Social enterprises are created and controlled on the initiatives of citizens. Nevertheless making decisions about the future activities of the enterprise is not based on who owns the majority of the capital.
The main objective of the course is to improve knowledge and skills of leaders of NGOs and social organizations of PWDs in project pilot regions (Tashkent, Samarkand and Shahrisabz cities) on development and implementation of business-projects.
The course is focused on obtaining skills for conducting easy-way marketing researches for necessary marketing information, and conducting expenditure calculation and financial reporting; receiving necessary knowledge for research and receiving needed investment for establishing and further development of the business.
The project ACCESS in planning to announce the contest for the best Business project on employment of people with disabilities among NGOs and social organizations of PWDs. The contest winners will receive equipment and/or technologies for starting or extending their business as well as professional education upon request from the ACCESS Project. Consultants of the project will render consultative assistance for sustainability during one year.
HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS OF UZBEKISTAN WILL HOLD ENTRANCE TESTS
On August 1 hundreds of thousands of young people of our country will have university entrance tests.
According to the information provided to the correspondent of UzA by the State Test Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 337,000 thousand applications were submitted this year to 72 institutions of higher education all over the Uzbekistan. That means, similar to last year, in average 6 applicants are competing for one spot.
This shows how high the status of higher education in our country.
FERGHANA ROUNDTABLE ADDRESSES SPIRITUALITY OF YOUTH PROBLEM
Ferghana hosted the roundtable on the topic “The youth with high spirituality – a buttress of Homeland”, the report by the Uzbekistan National News Agency said this week.
The event has been organized alongside with the Public Fund to Support and Develop the Independent Print Mass Media and Information Agencies of Uzbekistan, Kamolot Public Youth Movement, Kelajak Ovozi Center for Youth Initiatives, Union of Writers of Uzbekistan and Creative Union of Journalists, according to the report.
The young talents as well as the journalists took part at the roundtable.
One of the outstanding tasks in Uzbekistan is to bring up the comprehensively developed young generation devoted to the ideas of independence, as well as the national and universal values. The public organizations, as well, are finely contributing to this cause along with state establishments.
Those who took a floor at the roundtable have underscored that on the initiative of the Uzbek Leadership Uzbekistan accomplishes a substantial work to raise in youth a keen interest in book reading, as well as support the young men and women. All this is important in shaping in youth the high spiritual potential, the report also said.
Also, the delegates to the roundtable are reported to have discussed the urgent tasks in terms of covering in the media of the issues related to the spirituality of youth and increasing its activeness.
JOB FAIR OPENS IN TASHKENT
More than 100 companies and organizations are participating in the two-day job fair that opened on 29 July in Tashkent’s Bobur park.
Job seekers may choose from more than 21,000 vacancies at the event, organized by the city administration and corresponding ministries and departments.
A part of the vacancies have been specially allocated for the graduates of the professional colleges and academic lyceums.
This year, almost 40,000 young people finished such secondary special education establishments in Tashkent.
The presented vacancies cover spheres like transport, medicine, education, finance, construction, information technologies and others.