World Commodity PriCes—ProsPeCts for the futureamcham.uz/wp-content/uploads/publication-2016-first.pdf · commodity or product is largely driv-en by supply and demand. With the

semi-annual reporT For memBers 2016

World Commodity PriCes—ProsPeCts for the future

Dear Members and Friends,

Thanks to the internet and social media the pace of change has accelerated and we find ourselves at the half-way mark for the year with a lot taking place and a long list of things still to do.

As business people we can only express our support for the multinational efforts being made to resolve and alleviate the human tragedy being experienced in parts of the Middle East and the flood of refugees entering Turkey and the European Union.

We are equally supportive of the initiatives being sponsored by the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and it is an honor that the annual conference/meeting is taking place in Tashkent. The SCO and the recently creat-ed Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB) are insti-tutions that will play a major role in shaping the future for all of us.

The feature story in this issue deals with the commodity markets and we hope you will find the article to be of interest.

The Editorial Board

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AMCHAM UZBEKISTAN

eXHiBiTions in uzBekisTan, 2016

www.afs-research.com

Date Exhibition Organizers Location

27–30.04 SPORT WORLD 2016 Ministry of culture and sport of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilon No. 2

29.04 JobFair–2016 “Career+” weekly Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Atrium 1, Conf. hall

11–13.05 FAIR OF INNOVATIONS Ministry of Economics for Republic of Uzbekistan

Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1

18–20.05 OGU 2016 ITE UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1, 2

18–20.05 POWER UZBEKISTAN 2016

ITE UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1

18–21.05 INDUSTRIAL FAIR OF AGRICULTURE & WATER RESOURCES, PROCESSING BRANCH FOR AGRICULTURAL AND CONSUMER GOODS


18–21.05 INDUSTRIAL FAIR OF FIELDS OF PUBLIC UTILITIES, TRANSPORT, CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY


31.05–03.06 UZBEKISTAN AGROMINITECH EXPO

Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments & Trade

Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1, 2

31.05–03.06 UZBEKISTAN AGROTECHMASH EXPO

MFERIT, Ministry of ag-riculture & water man-agement


08–11.06 INDUSTRIAL FAIR OF GEOLOGICAL, FUEL-POWER ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL, OIL-CHEMICAL AND METALLURGICAL BRANCHES

Appropriate complex of Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan


04–05.08 SPORT WORLD 2016 Ministry of culture and sport of the Republic of Uzbekistan


07–09.09 CAITME 2016 ITE UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1, 2

Business ConneCtions • semi-annual report For memBers • 20162

inviTaTions

Date Exhibition Organizers Location

07–09.09 TEXTILE EXPO UZBEKISTAN 2016

ITE UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1, 2

14–16.09 O’ZUPACK 2016 O’ZBEK in PRINT 2016


14–16.09 PLASTEX UZBEKISTAN 2016


14–16.09 CHEMIE UZBEKISTAN 2016


21–23.09 “UZENERGYEXPO 2016” IEG UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1

21–23.09 “UZSTROYEXPO 2016” IEG UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1

21–23.09 Specialized exhibition “Tashkent–Flora–2016”

JSS NEC Uzexpocentre Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 2

28–30.09 “UZMEDEXPO 2016” IEG UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1

28–30.09 FOODWEEK / AGRITEK UZBEKISTAN 2016

EXPO POSITION Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 2

05–07.10 Tashkent International Tourist Fair 2016

“UZBEKTOURISM” NC Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1, 2

06–08.10 BEAUTY UZBEKISTAN 2016

ITE UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Atrium 1

13–14.10 International Uzbek Cotton & Textile Fair

“Uzpakhtasanoatexport” (cotton industry) HC,

“Uzbekyengilsanoat” (light industry) SJSC, MFERIT RU, COTTON OUTLOOK, “Sifat” Training Center

Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1, 2

24.10–04.11 International Industrial Fair & Cooperating Exchange

MFER RU, Ministry of Economics, Council of Ministers for the Republic of Karakalpakstan, town councils of regions and Tashkent city

Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, All Pavilions, Atrium 1, 2, Conf. hall

16–18.11 Mining World Uzbekistan 2016


16–18.11 MACHINERY CENTRAL ASIA 2016


16–18.11 TRANS UZBEKISTAN 2016


23–25.11 “UZAGROEXPO 2016” IEG UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1

23–25.11 “UZPRODEXPO 2015” IEG UZBEKISTAN Uzexpocentre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Pavilion No. 1

23–25.11 SPORT WORLD UZBEKISTAN 2016

JSS NEC UZEXPOCENTRE EXPO POSITION


23–25.11 WORLD OF CHILDHOOD 2016

JSS NEC UZEXPOCENTRE EXPO POSITION


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inTernaTional Buyer program u.s. Trade sHow scHedule For 2016

Exhibition Date City Web site

CES® 2016 06–09/01 Las Vegas, NV cesweb.org

The Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference SHOT Show® 19–22/01 Las Vegas, NV shotshow.org

International Production & Processing Expo 26–28/01 Atlanta, GA ippexpo.com

World of Concrete (WOC) 2016 02–05/02 Las Vegas, NV worldofconcrete.com

DistribuTECH® Conference and Exhibition 09–11/02 Orlando, FL distributech.com

Progressive Insurance® Miami International Boat Show® 11–15/02 Miami, FL miamiboatshow.com

Natural Products Expo West/Engredea 2016 10–13/03 Anaheim, CA expowest.com

NAB Show® 2016 18–21/04 Las Vegas, NV nabshow.com

Offshore Technology Conference 02–05/05 Houston, TX otcnet.org

The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show NRA Show® 2016 21–24/05 Chicago, IL show.restaurant.org

WasteExpo 2016 07–09/06 Las Vegas, NV wasteexpo.com

InfoComm 2016 08–10/06 Las Vegas, NV infocommshow.org

International Franchise Expo 2016 16–18/06 New York, NY ifeinfo.com

Fancy Food Show (Summer) 2016 26–28/06 New York, NY specialtyfood.com

2016 AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo 24–28/07 Atlanta, GA aacc.org

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 03–06/08 Salt Lake City, UT outdoorretailer.com

International Woodworking Fair 24–27/08 Atlanta, GA iwfatlanta.com

Farm Progress Show 31/08–27/09 Boone, IA farmprogressshow.com

Solar Power International 12–15/09 Las Vegas, NV solarpowerinternational.com

Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference WEFTEC® 2015 24–28/09 New Orleans, LA weftec.org

MINExpo International 2016 26–28/09 Las Vegas, NV minexpo.com

International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE®) 08–11/10 Las Vegas, NV ibie2016.org

Greater New York Dental Meeting (GNYDM) 2016 25–30/11 New York, NY gnydm.com


inviTaTions

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$ Analytical research; $ Marketing research; $ Subscription to periodicals.

Ramada Tashkent Hotel provides spe-cial offers for 2016 on following venues & services:

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We have read and witnessed the cur-rent financial crisis that has greatly changed the landscape in the bank-ing and insurance community but there is another, equally disruptive storm, which is sweeping through the com-modity markets with far more wide spread consequences.

The toll this silent storm is taking is enormous—especially as much of it is falling on the emerging markets that are heavily dependent on world commodity prices for their primary exports. As recently reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world economy is beset by fee-ble growth and a recovery that is weak, uneven and in danger of stalling again—with the primary culprit being low commodity prices that have befallen markets around the globe.

THe silenT sTorm—an overview of the Commodity markets

Compounding the drop in com-modity prices have been the move-m e nt s i n t h e c u r re n c y m a r ket s where currencies ranging from the U. S. Dollar to the Euro, Brazilian Real, Chinese Yuan, and the Japanese Yen have all been subjected to major fluc-tuations.

With most fluctuations in com-modity prices are beyond the control of a single country—or even a single commodity group such as the OPEC oil cartel, the repercussions are felt by everyone be they governments or in-dividuals. As business people we are well aware of the fact that volatility can often present immense opportu-nity to profit but for every winner there is also a loser, and in the commodity markets it is largely the general popu-lation that suffers the most.

In terms of sheer size and val-ue the oil and gas sector is the larg-est commodity market in the world. However, as we have seen in the past few years it is also one of the most volatile with crude prices having plunged more than seventy percent (70 %) from a high of USD 120 per bar-rel to below USD 30 per barrel, and a current price approaching USD 50 per barrel. For those countries that are heavily dependent on the export of oil and oil equivalent products (nat-ural gas), this has had a major impact as witnessed by what is taking place in Saudi Arabia, and the repercus-sions being felt in Russia, Nigeria and Kazakhstan. For many, especially mo-torists, airlines and others where the price of fuel is often the major oper-ative cost, the drop in the price of oil has been seen as a benefit and has helped in the recovery of the auto in-dustry and many of the world’s air-lines. However, as we are now seeing in the financial sector where credits to energy-related borrowers are fall-ing into default or where jobs are be-ing lost as capital expenditures by oil and gas production companies are cut-back, it is not a simple equation and the radius of the shock waves en-compasses the globe. It is currently estimated that over USD 270 billion in new investment spending has been cancelled or deferred. This includes ultra-deep-water drilling projects, huge boats that serve as floating liq-uefied natural gas factories, and the expansion of existing facilities rang-ing from Australia, North America and the Middle East.


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As in most markets the price of a commodity or product is largely driv-en by supply and demand. With the global market for oil being approxi-mately 100 million barrels per day, the growing demand from countries like China and India helped push prices to the highs mentioned earlier. However, little noticed in the beginning, the U. S. as the world’s largest consumer of oil, began to increase production—thanks in great part to horizontal drilling, shale oil, fracking and improved geophysical technologies, and the equilibrium in the oil market started to change and there was soon a surplus of supply that when coupled with the decrease in demand as a consequence of the fi-nancial crisis, the market price began to fall to the levels we now have.

As already mentioned, the impact has been significant affecting many sectors—oil service companies, logis-tics and transport (rail, road and ship), banking, equipment manufacturers, and many small businesses that de-pend on the oil companies as their main source of revenue. During this period—and as a consequence of the Silent Storm, investors have suffered losses of at least USD 150 billion in the value of oil and gas company bonds. The 300 largest global oil and gas com-panies have also seen USD 2.3 trillion sliced from their stock market value since mid-2014.

It should also be mentioned that unexpected events such as the deteri-orating political situation in Venezuela, reentry of Iran as a supplier, chaos in Iraq, turmoil in Brazil, and other disrup-tive happenings have all contributed to the volatility of the price of oil.

There is no clear indication as to where oil prices will go with most knowledgeable people in the market expecting it to range between USD 50 and USD 70 per barrel. However, even though many producers can still make money with prices at this level, gov-ernments that are heavily dependent on oil revenues (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and others) are actively looking to diversify their economies. For the major international oil compa-

nies (Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Total, BP, etc.) the current volatility has led to a slimming down and reduction in cap-ital expenditures—with this in turn re-sulting in lower employment levels and reduced foreign direct investment in emerging markets. An example of this here in Uzbekistan has been the post-ponement of the Gas—to—Liquids Project, a multibillion USD undertaking that would greatly reduce the need for imported diesel and aviation fuel.

Stepping aside from oil and gas and looking at the world’s other ma-jor commodity markets, we can best describe them as hard—as in miner-als, and soft as in agricultural prod-ucts. For the hard markets, the prima-ry ones are gold, copper, silver, iron ore and coal. Granted there are many oth-ers ranging from the exotic rare earths, to tungsten, titanium, lithium, zinc, and cobalt, but these are more specialized catering to select users. For the soft’s, the primary markets are coffee, sugar, soybeans, cacao, wheat, cotton, and several others where again the mar-kets are more selective serving spe-cific businesses.

As in oil and gas, the mining sector is heavily capital intensive with extend-ed lead times due to research, explo-ration, testing, licensing, and authori-zation. Both are often in remote loca-

tions (including off-shore) where new infrastructure needs to be built. Being capital intensive the projects often need a combination of financing that includes equity and debt—with the lat-ter coming from both public and pri-vate sources. In Uzbekistan the min-ing sector is largely the province of the large state enterprises with nom-inal foreign involvement.

As agricultural products the soft commodities are usually easier and faster to increase in production and bring to the market. However, as op-posed to oil and gas and the min-ing sector, agricultural commodities are subject to climatic conditions (drought, storms, frost) and pesti-lence, which can easily affect and in-terrupt their availability causing pric-es to go up.

In the hard commodities gold is in a class of its own, in that demand is both individual and commercial, with the former being in part cultural (as in the Indian jewelry market) and part as a safe investment (gold coins, bars etc) with the buyers including Central Banks and individuals. Other than sil-ver—which shares some of the dual ap-peal as gold, the rest of the minerals are destined for manufacture/indus-trial purposes. Of these copper, iron ore and coal are the largest in terms

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USD 20 billion and the more recent Samarco dam collapse in Brazil that will cost BHP Billiton and Vale upwards of USD 40 billion.

The situation for the soft commod-ities has been no better with: sugar off by 50 %; cotton off by 50 %; coffee off by 45 %; wheat down by 50 % and most other softs showing similar weakness.

Before attempting to forecast what may happen to commodity markets in the balance of 2016 or in 2017, we need to highlight the role the major commodity trader’s play. In oil & gas the leading players are Vitol, Trafigura, Gunvor and Glencore, while in the soft commodities groups such as Cargill and Louis Dreyfus are leading players along with a long list of specialized ag-ricultural merchants who trade sug-ar, cocoa, rubber and other individu-al commodities.

The role of the traders is both im-portant and complex in that they are often producers themselves or they are providers as in Vitol’s recent USD 3 billion loan-for-oil agreement with Kazakhstan. Glencore is another prime example, in that as one of the world’s largest trading groups, they are also producers—owning mining com-panies and production facilities such as the Vasilkovskoye gold company in Kazakhstan and its Kazzinc subsidiary. Glencore is also involved in the large aluminum facility in Tajikistan where the bauxite/alumina is brought in and then converted using the available lo-cal electricity power.

The large international banks have also been important players with Citi-bank having generated USD 850 mil-lion in gross profit from commodities trading last year. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are also major players with their strong returns having been aided by the volatile com-modity price environment.

Looking ahead and trying to fore-cast which way the commodity mar-kets will go is an impossible task as so much depends on events that have yet to happen—the American presi-dential election on November 8th; the unrest in the Middle East; the growing

diamonds from Botswana, Russia and South Africa; emeralds from Colombia, are few and are mostly the purview of specialized organizations so they do not fit into the general marketplace.

For most hard commodities the past several years have been very dif-ficult as prices have fallen with many mines being closed and new projects delayed. Large mining groups such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have cut back and are taking a slow approach to any major new commitments un-til future conditions are clearer and better understood. The same applies to more specialized groups such as Barrick, Newmont, Anglo American and Freeport McMoran where down-sizing has become the norm. For pur-poses of this report we have not in-cluded the major Russian mining groups as relevant information is not easy to access.

For the major hard commodities prices have fallen: copper off by 70 %; iron ore off by 50 %; coal off by 40 %; and silver down by 20 %. It has been a challenging period for the miners.

Accompanying the downturn in prices has been the increased cost of legal settlements resulting from catastrophic events such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has cost BP over

of capital intensity and diversity of need. With growing usage of aluminum we should add bauxite to the list even though it is found in greater abun-dance and does not require the same capital intensity as copper and iron ore mining. With almost all of the min-eral commodities they are extracted—(either from underground mines or open-pit)—possibly semi processed nearby—and then transported to for-eign markets. Prime examples of this are Australia (iron ore and coal), Chile (copper), Brazil (iron ore), Mongolia (copper) and Papua New Guinea (cop-per)—with the ore concentrate go-ing to far-off markets in China, Japan, Europe and India. As a leading pro-ducer of gold, Uzbekistan has, and will hopefully continue to benefit from the prospects that gold prices will go up, a development that would also bene-fit neighboring Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. It is unfortunate that copper, which Uzbekistan also pro-duces, is suffering from a severe drop in price—caused in great part by the decrease in Chinese demand.

Before going into the pricing for hard and soft commodities we should note that precious stones—while com-modities, are not traded in open mar-kets subject to the usual supply and demand. Sources of precious stones—


FeaTure

antagonism between Russia and the U. S.; the increasing tension in the South China Sea; the uncertainty as to what Pyongyang will do next; and our inabil-ity to foresee what the weather will be.

What we can count on is that the world population will continue to grow and people need food and the many things that are made of minerals (such as an iPhone) and hydrocarbons (gas-oline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel and bun-ker fuel), so the market will grow and prices should improve. In this respect it is interesting to note that India’s rate of growth has matched China’s and it’s expected the Indian demand for oil will exceed China’s by yearend 2016. This will help the world price for crude as India produces only a quarter of its re-quirements domestically.

It is interesting to note that for the Chinese certain commodities such as iron ore have become a form of gam-bling—a new casino so to speak, as they pour money into futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange with over USD 300 billion of iron ore futures being traded this past April.

While we don’t recommend specu-lation as a wise way of dealing with com-modities, we do see the positive as-pects of hedging commodity markets where possible and where applicable. This can be done in a variety of ways—

selling forward to lock-in today’s price; selling short in anticipation of a drop; and fixed calls at predetermined future dates in order to again lock-in a variable cost; and other financial mechanisms that the investment bankers in London and New York specialize in.

Here in Central Asia we are fortu-nate in that the region enjoys stabili-ty and a long list of both soft and hard commodities. Access to international markets is improving thanks to new rail lines, improved roads and additional pipelines. As business people we hope that the world economies will begin to show signs of recovery as was recent-ly forecast for the European Union and that this will translate into new and im-proved opportunities for all of us.

For Uzbekistan we can see good opportunities to integrate and add val-ue to a variety of the commodities that are locally available. In the oil and gas sector this would include downstream projects that would take advantage of the available natural gas; in mining it could include further processing of copper into refined products; and in the soft agricultural commodities it ranges from greater integration in the cotton sector; the cultivation of high-er value products in horticulture and organics; and the attraction of specif-ic foreign investors who would not on-

ly allow for the substitution of imports but would manufacture food prod-ucts in Uzbekistan for both regional and worldwide distribution.

In order to counter balance the worldwide nature of commodity mar-kets where prices are influenced by circumstances beyond anyone’s con-trol, it would be advantageous for Uzbekistan to attract key multination-al companies (MNC’s) as foreign di-rect investors in select sectors and se-lect businesses. Prime examples of this would be companies such as Inditex from Spain and Hanes from the USA in the garment sector, and Kraft-Heinz in foods, in that these are companies that have worldwide processing/production facilities and are global distributors with highly recognized brand names.

AmCham is participating jointly with the Government of Uzbekistan in a program of roundtables designed to attract potential foreign investors in specific sectors of the Uzbek econ-omy. The first of these was held in March (please see the report in this is-sue) focused on the pharmaceutical industry and another is planned this fall targeting food processing. We are hopeful that these will stimulate inter-est and attract potential MNC’s to the many opportunities that Uzbekistan provides. #

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monthly meeting on January 28, 2016Mr. Laziz Kudratov, Director of the “Uz-in fo invest” agency of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Invest ment and Trade, addressed AmCham mem-bers at the January monthly meeting.

Uzinfoinvest is an agency of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Rela-tions, Investments and Trade, provi-ding necessary information and assis-tance to foreign investors implement-ing projects within Uzbekistan.

In his speech, Mr. Kurdatov addres-sed the economic potential and stra-

tegic economic development priori-ties of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

“In regards to Uzbekistan, we need to mention recent achievements of the country, including stable econo-mic growth which has stayed at the 7–8 per cent level within the last few years. Recent achievements include imp ro ve ment in the World Bank ‘Doing Bu si ness’ ratingfor 2015 from 103rd pla-ce in 2014 to 87th place in 2015”—stat-ed Mr. Kudratov.

As stated earlier, the government of Uzbekistan seeks investment in priority projects directed at develop-

ment of local production and export, according to the State Program for Modernization of Industry.

As part of the modernization pro-gram, the Government of Uzbekistan has announced a call to recruit for-eign professionals as senior execu-tives in select state-owned enter-prises, including senior positions in Uzbekneftegaz (Oil and Gas national Holding Company, Uzbekistan railways, Textile etc.)

For more information please visit Uzinfoinvest web-site http://www.uz-infoinvest.uz/

Laziz Kudratov, Executive Director Uzinfoinvest addresses AmCham members at January membership meeting.

Tatyana Bystrushkina , Executive Director AmCham Uzbekistan.

Benjamin Schneider, GM with visiting World Bank expert.Matthew Kuschel, Executive Director Tashkent International Clinic.


amcHam evenTs

monthly meeting on february 25, 2016H. E. Carmela Shamir, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Uzbekistan, was honor-ary speaker at the February Monthly Meeting of AmCham in Uzbekistan.

I n h i s i n t r o d u c t o r y r e m a r k s , AmCham President Donald Nicholson II, lauded the Ambassador’s distin-guished career—“Ambassador Camel Shamir has built a brilliant career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. Her previous assignments in-clude the United Kingdom, Belgium

and Luxemburg. Ambassador Shamir speaks four languages including Japanese and French.”

O ve r 4 0 co rp o rate m e mb e r s of A m Cham par ticipate d in th e Februar y Monthly meeting which took place in the cozy atmosphere of the “Allegro” restaurant at the International Hotel Tashkent. The subject of the presentation was

“Israel: Culture of Innovation.”Israel, which is known as a “Start-up

Nation”, within the last few years has consistently ranked highest among top innovative nations in the world,

and ranks number one in the rate of per capita research and development spending globally.

In her presentation, Ambassador Shamir praised her country’s innova-tive culture—“There are more Israeli companies listed on the NASDAQ than India, Japan, and Korea com-bined. We are champions in number of startups outside Silicon Valley, per capita venture capital investment.”

Participants who enjoyed the pre-sentation also took part in a question and answer session followed by a so-cial hour and cocktails.

H. E. Carmela Shamir, Ambassador of Israel to Uzbekistan.Jean Henry, OASIS FES LLC.

Dimitris Vlachopanos, GM Ramada Hotel , Peter Andersen, G. D. Radisson Hotel and hotels’ managers.

Donald Nicholson II, AmCham President.

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U. s.–Uzbek Business round tableOver 30 representatives from 13 large American companies visited Tashkent from 22–24 March as part of a Trade Mission which aimed to explore business opportunities in Uzbekistan. The 13 com-panies included—3M, BD, Citibank, Dow, Eli Lilly, GE, Hill-Rom, Lutron Electronics, M e rc k , O ve r s e a s D eve l o p m e nt Corporation, RAM Foreign Trade (Sikorsky) and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. The program of the Trade Mission includ-ed site visits, briefings about the Uzbek business climate, prospects of econom-

ic development from AmCham, World Bank and USAID, a series of B2B meet-ings and one-on-one meetings with relevant Uzbek Government officials. The U. S.–Uzbek Government Business Roundtable was held on 24 March, with-in the framework of the Trade Mission. Co-organizers of the business round-table were MFERIT, Uzinfoinvest, the U. S. Embassy, U. S. Commercial Service, AmCham in Uzbekistan and AUCC.

Mr. John Fay of the U. S. Com mer-cial Service, Turkey addres sed guests of the evening reception hos ted by AmCham in Uzbekistan.

Based on U. S. Embassy web site publication http://uzbekistan.usem-bassy.gov/032716en.html.

On March 24, Ambassador Sprat-len delivered a keynote address at a widely attended U. S.– Uzbek government-business roundtable. Around 30 representatives from 13 American companies traveled to Uzbekistan for the roundtable and related activities, which were also attended by numerous local com-panies, including members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Uzbekistan (AmCham).

Uzbek government representatives, U. S .—Uzbek Business roundtable. Photo © U. S. Embassy Uzbekistan.

L. Kudratov, Uzinfoinvest Agency, Mr. Ibragimov, JSC Uzpharmsanoat, M. Dustmuratov, JSC Uzpharmsanoat, J. Fay, U. S. Department of Commerce, H. E. P. Spratlen, Ambassador of USA to Uzbekistan, T. Bystrushkina & T. Grünberg, AmCham Uzbekistan.


amcHam evenTs

AmCham was one of the event’s co-organizers, along with the Govern-ment of Uzbekistan, the U. S. Embassy, the U. S. Department of Commerce, and the American-Uzbekistan Cham-ber of Commerce. During the two days prior to the roundtable, the Depart-ment of Commerce brought a seven-company trade mission to Uzbekistan to conduct research on the business climate. Trade mission participants re-mained in Uzbekistan for the round-table, at which Uzbek government of-ficials provided overviews of Uzbe-kistan’s economic performance and

priorities. They also offered sector-specific information geared at possi-ble cooperation with American firms in the areas of pharmaceuticals and healthcare technology, which were a special focus of the roundtable.

In turn, visiting and locally based bu si ness posed questions about d oing business in Uzbekistan during the event’s open forum. The exchan-ge of information continued during a business-to-business session, during which visiting businesspeople held discussions with Uzbek companies and government officials. Many visiting

businesses also participated in sepa-rate one-on-one meetings with repre-sentatives from Uzbek ministries and state-affiliated companies prior to the roundtable itself.

Participants remarked that the round table and other activities provi-ded them with crucial insight into Uz-be ki stan’s business environment and valuable opportunities to network with government and corporate decision-makers. Some companies expressed optimism that their participation in the week’s events could eventually lead to concrete trade or investment deals.

Zaytuna Nasirova, U. S. Embassy , H. E. Mosud Mannan, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Uzbekistan.

H. E Pamela Spratlen, Ambassador of USA to Uzbekistan.

Visiting representatives of Citibank.Visiting representatives of Dow company.

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monthly meeting on april 21, 2016HE Christopher Allan, Her Majesty’s Am -bassador to the Republic of Uz be ki stan, addressed AmCham members pre sent at the February monthly mee ting about what the United Kingdom has to offer.

The meeting took place at the Hotel International Tashkent, DOME restau-rant, where participants included over 40 representatives from the private sector, including main foreign inves-tors to Uzbekistan, local companies, international organizations and mem-bers of the diplomatic community.

In his remarks, Ambassador Allen noted the visibility AmCham enjoys as an international business associa-tion in Uzbekistan—“Since arriving se-ve ral months ago, I was constantly told about AmCham in Uzbekistan as the leading association of business. I know that members of AmCham include sev-eral British companies that work in the sphere of natural resources, consulting, commodities, education and others.”

In his speech, the Ambassador pro-vided a broad macroeconomic overview, background on the British econo my, its transformation and its current sec torial make-up. He also shared infor ma tion on current opportunities availab le for the Uzbek private sector in the UK.

The first opportunity was related to the UK Export Finance Agency. As the

United Kingdom’s export credit agen-cy, it helps the exporters by providing insurance and guarantees to banks by sharing the risks of providing export fi-nance, as well as making loans to over-seas buyers of goods and services from the UK. More information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organ-isations/uk-export-finance.

The second business opportuni-ty which was discussed is the upcom-ing International Festival for Business 2016 (IFB2016). This festival will take place at the purpose-built Exhibition Centre in Liverpool, from 13 June to 1 July. IFB2016 will be the largest busi-

ness festival of its kind in the world promoting both trade and invest-ment with over 70 high-quality events focusing on the three important sec-tors of “Energy and Environment,”

“Digital and Creative,” and “Advanced Manufacturing.” Additional details can be found by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/international-festival-for-business-2016-ifb2016

“If you’re looking to source advanced manufactured goods, or other British products this is an ideal opportunity to get to know the British market,” noted Ambassador Allen in his remarks to at-tendees of the April monthly meeting.

Ambassador Allen also mentioned the upcoming annual Uzbek-British Trade and Industry Council meeting which is scheduled to take place in Tashkent this autumn.

During the presentation attendees also enjoyed short videos about the UK which depicted British culture, and what the United Kingdom has to offer as a destination for tourism.

The Q&A session which followed the presentation gave participants a chan-ce to ask questions, share views and discuss issues informally during the cocktail and social part of the evening.

Additional details about the meet-ing are available here: http://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/british-ambassador-speaks-about-the-uk-economy-in-tashkent.

Pierre-Paul Antheunissens, “Alstom”, Kadyr Yusupov, “AMBiT”

H. E. Christopher Allan, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain to Uzbekistan


amcHam evenTs

monthly meeting on may 19, 2016Almost 60 representatives of member companies of AmCham in Uzbekistan attend the May monthly member-ship meeting which took place at the Hotel International Tashkent, DOME Restaurant.

Honorary speaker at the meeting was Mr Ryan Haley, Consular Chief of the U. S. Embassy in Uzbekistan. Mr Haley spoke about services the U. S. Consular Section provides, in-cluding services for American citi-zens, and information regarding appli-cations for non-immigrant and immi-grant visas.

A special part of the presentation was dedicated to the U. S. Consular Section—AmCham in Uzbekistan Visa Interview Expedite Requests and Support Letters. Members of AmCham in Uzbekistan enjoy cer-tain procedural advantages, includ-ing expedited appointment requests. The program works for employees of companies who are members of AmCham in Uzbekistan and who are applying for U. S. visas in order to trav-el to the United States for business purposes.

To apply for the program read the following policy. If you have ques-tions, please contact the AmCham office.

Members of AmCham in Uzbekistan enjoy certain procedural advan-tages, including expedited appointment requests. The program works for employees of companies-members of AmCham in Uzbekistan who are applying for U. S. visas in order to travel to the United States for busi-ness purposes. Please see details here.

amCham Visa expedite requests, support Letters

These instructions describe how the American Chamber of Commerce may request expedited nonimmigrant visa appointments and submit sup-port letters on behalf of AmCham members traveling to the United States for business purposes.

To request such assistance, AmCham Member Companies are advised to follow the steps below:

1. See the U. S. Embassy Tashkent nonimmigrant visa web pages at http://uzbekistan.usembassy.gov/non-immigrant_visas.html for general instructions on requesting an expedited appointment. The embassy will respond to requests from AmCham in accordance with its standard pro-cedures for all applicants.

2. The visa applicant fills out electronic application form (DS-160).3. The applicant selects an appointment date through the embassy’s

online appointment system. Without an existing appointment, an expe-dited appointment cannot be approved.

4. AmCham Internal Procedures:a) To participate in the program, AmCham member companies should

present the following documents to the AmCham office: $ A letter to the AmCham office requesting an expedited appointment.

The letter should clearly explain the purpose of the business visit and the reason for the expedited appointment. The letter should have a clear state-ment of the exact position in the company of person/persons intending to make a visit, their legal names and passport data, and the time frame of the visit. The place of a visit should also be clearly stated. If an AmCham Member Company is financing the visit from its own accounts, it must be clearly explained. If a business partner in the U. S. is paying for any expens-es this also needs to be stated in the letter.

$ A copy of an invitation letter from a partner company in the United States. $ A copy of a contract, if available. $ Copies of passports.

b) After AmCham has reviewed all of the documents presented, the Exe-cutive Director will prepare a letter to be attached to those documents for the AmCham file and to be brought to the interview by the applicants. AmCham provides the embassy with a sample letter and e-mails updated versions to [email protected] for the Consular Section to use as a reference.

5. AmCham e-mails the Consular Section at [email protected] and provides the applicant’s name, date and place of birth, passport information, the existing appointment date/time and application bar-code, a short summary explaining the urgency of the business trip, and a scanned copy of the AmCham support letter. Expedite e-mails may in-clude requests to reschedule interviews for colleagues or business part-ners for the same day.

6. The embassy notes the AmCham support letter, decides on the re-quest according to its standard criteria, and replies to the e-mail within three business days.

7. Applicants may always schedule appointments directly with the Consular Section at http://uzbekistan.usembassy.gov/non-immigrant_visas.html. Regular appointments are normally available within ten business days.

Ryan Haley, Consular Chief of the U. S. Embassy in Uzbekistan

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Business mixer on february 3, 2016The f irst Business Mixer in 2016 was hosted by the British School of Tashkent which began its history in Uzbekistan in the year 2010 with the opening of a single small campus. Over the next five years the school expe-rienced continuous growth and ex-panded to include both a Lower and Upper campus. The February busi-ness mixer was hosted at the school’s Upper Campus.

“There are plans to further expand,” noted Mr. David Kirkham, Director of the British School, during his welcom-

ing remarks. “By the summer we plan to finish construction of the big new campus which will include all neces-sary sport facilities.”

The British School of Tashkent has been a member of AmCham in Uz-bekis tan since 2011.

For more details about the school please visit: https://www.britishschool.uz/

Business mixer on march 17, 2016Members of AmCham in Uzbekistan enjoyed the hospitality of the Hotel Ramada Tashkent at the March net-

working event , which was spon -sored by long-standing member International Certif icate System Group. The 17 March Business Mixer coincided with St. Patrick’s Day cele-brations, and over 70 participants of this great event enjoyed the delicious food and beverage options of the Irish Pub at the Ramada Hotel.

ICS Group provides a range of ex pert and cost effective registra-tion and certification services desig-ned to optimize business opportuni-ties. These incorporate: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, OHSAS 18001, PAS 43 / NHSS 17 / NHSS 17b Quality

H. E. Mosud Mannan, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Uzbekistan and Mr. David Kirkham Director of the British School.

Michael Ram, TIS.

Shervin Mirzadeh,Mrs. Dinara Suvanova, ICS Group—sponsors of the Business Mixer.Ahn Sung Joon, KOTRA.


amcHam evenTs

Ma na ge ment, Environmental Mana-ge ment, Infor mation Security, Safety & Health and Vehicle Recovery stan-dards.

ICS Group holds an accreditation certificate from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service organization. The United Kingdom Accreditation Service is the sole UK accreditation body recognized by the UK govern-ment, and is also fully recognized by EU Member State Governments to assess organizations that pro -vide certification. As the UK is a pri-mary member of the EU, only UKAS Accreditation or a similar EU based

a c c re dit atio n b o dy c a n gu a ra n -tee accreditation will be recognized by European Union Member State Governments, commerce and in-dustry.

The American Chamber of Com-mer ce in Uzbekistan is an association of international businesses operat-ing in Uz bekistan that provide a num-ber of services to members inclu-ding formal and informal networking events, business contacts with other Ame rican Chambers of Commerce in 108 count ries around the world, member to members services and many others.

To join us please cont act the AmCham office.

Business mixer on april 22, 2016Train Consultancy LLC—Gold Member of AmCham in Uzbekistan sponsored AmCham April networking event called Business Mixer.

Special treat for the guests was pre-pared by the team of professionals of the Train Constancy LLC.

Tu r k u a z R e s t a u r a n t o f t h e Wynd ham Hotel was a beautiful venue for the net wor king event. Spectacular fruit—detox fountain—

Atabek Alimdjanov, Move One Logistics, Negmatulla Karimov, Grant ThorntonPhilip Hesketh, Wakefield Inspection Service.

Jon Larsen, U. S. Embassy, Hugo Minderhoud, AKTE LLC, Jean-Claude Beaujean. Guest of the Business Mixer.

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AMCHAM UZBEKISTAN

bar was a gif t from F& B team of Wyndham Hotel.

“We are proud to have such a suc-cessful member like Train Consultan-cy LLC ”—star ted his welcome re-marks Tõnu Grünberg, AmCham Vice-President.

Honorary Namik Guner Erpul, Am-bas sador of the Republic of Turkey to the Republic of Uzbekistan took the floor to welcome participants of the April Business Mixer.

AmCham in Uzbekistan is busi-ness association that unites over 100 member companies from USA, Europe, Turkey, South East Asia and

local companies. It is a unique busi-ness platform for transparent busi-ness to meet, network, discuss is-sues.

Representatives of Train Con sul-tan cy have given short presentation about the Company, its successful business model based on diversifica-tion of the business and strong team of professionals.

Train Consultancy is the progres-sive and dynamically developing company that has been founded in 2009 and for last period has tak-en the worthy place in the market of Uzbekistan.

We provide services in prepara-tion and introduction of projects in the f ield of information technolo-gies and telecommunications (par-ticipation at all stages from consul-tation on projects to delivering full construction of the project).

The second direction of the com-pany is production of textile fabric under own brand Platin Textile for export sale.

The main customers of the com-pany are the companies from Rus-sian Federation, Belarus, the Ukrai-ne, Turkey, Poland, Germany and Por tugal.

Mustafa Yuzbas, Train Consultancy LLC , H. E. Ambassasor Namik Guner Erpul and Shaartikov Begzod, Train Consultancy LLC.

Tõnu Grünberg, AmCham Vice-President.

Guests of Business Mixer. Tatyana Bystrushkina and Maksuma Ashirmetova.


amcHam evenTs

Today, in order to stand out among other hotels, we need to anticipate the expectations of the most demanding guests with fresh ideas and perfect service. The team at the Wyndham Tashkent Hotel stands ready to provide the best service—service that fitsthe slogan “Count on us.”

We are open to the whole world, and are ready to work in partnership with large companies and individual guests. At the Wyndham Tashkent our goal is not just to provide ser-vices, but relationships! Business relationships, friendships, trust, service, and excellence—these are the key principles of the Wyndham Tashkent Hotel.

In connection with the opening of the summer season, on the evening of 21 May, we openedthe “Garden Grill & Bar” at the Wyndham Tashkent Hotel! The event was attended by over 300 people, and featured a buffet style dinner and plenty of beverages. An entertainment program featuring a water dance performance was prepared especially for this event which made it an even more colorful and memora-ble occasion.

Today, we are pleased to meet all our guests in a renewed Garden Grill & bar!

Working hours: from 7: 00 to 23:00 every day.

garden grill & Bar

opening wyndHam

HoTel

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Traditionally, the new financial year means changes, amendments and updates to the tax legislation of Uzbekistan. A number of norms with rates and preferences within the tax code have been modified this year, as well as certain tax-related definitions.

To provide a detailed update on all the changes in Uzbek tax legislation, the AmCham Tax and Accounting Com mittee organized a half day semi-nar which took place on the 27th of Ap-ril. The se mi nar was held at the office of the Ame ri can Chamber of Com-mer ce in Uz be kistan.

Accountants, financial managers and auditors of AmCham member

companies had a chance to partici-pate in the seminar which was led by a leading expert of Uzbek tax policy, Ms. Zoya Tuchkova.

This year’s Seminar was co-orga-nized by Vera Bell, business associate of Crowe Horwath Uzbekistan, and Chair of the AmCham Tax and Ac-coun ting Committee.

Ms. Tuchkova presented a briefing to participants on recent changes in tax rates and other compulsory pay ments which were introduced for 2016. Besides the amendments, ma ny other serious taxation-related items were discussed. During the seminar, participating ac-countants also exchan ged opinions on

issues pertaining to bookkeeping. Both the speaker and audience showed keen interest in the discussions.

Participants also received semi-nar handouts with an outline of main changes valid for 2016, prepared by Audit as. The seminar was very bene-ficial and helped participating accoun-tants improve their understanding the new tax issues.

Accountants within the AmCham community will continue to be the t arget audience for the Tax and Accounting Committee. Other chang-es within tax legislation and bookkeep-ing will continue to be introduced as topics for further discussion.

amcHam TaX and accounTing commiTTee seminar apriL 27, 2016


commiTTee news

Trade & invesTmenT commiTTee news

The Trade and Investment Committee welcomes all AmCham members, dip-lomatic/government representatives, and members of the development community with an interest in a healthy and growing business environment in Uzbekistan to participate in our com-mittee meetings. We meet monthly to discuss current events affecting the T&I climate in Uzbekistan and ways the committee can assist market partic-ipants and new entrants to succeed.

T h e T& I C o m m i t t e e h a s h a d an active start in 2016, facilitating the Executive U. S. Trade Mission to Uzbekistan and organizing the U. S.—Uzbek Business Roundtable. The roundtable was sponsored by the Uzbekistan Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade, U. S. Commercial Service, U. S. Embassy in Tashkent, the American Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce a n d t h e A m e r i c a n C h a m b e r of Commerce in Uzbekistan based in Tashkent. More than 30 delegates from 13 U. S. companies participat-ed in the roundtable—which includ-ed presentations from Uzinfoinvest, the Ministry of Health, leaders of the Uzbekistan Pharmaceutical Industry and local business leaders. The pre-sentations were followed by a live-ly question and answer session that proved very informative for the visit-ing delegates. The delegates also had opportunities to meet with represen-tatives from the Uzbekistan govern-ment, U. S. Embassy, AmCham and potential local business partners and agents. Feedback from the roundta-ble has been very positive and a fu-ture roundtable is already being planned.

In the past the Trade and Invest-ment Committee has been involved in dis cussions regarding possible chang-es to customs policy, improvements to the legal framework for trade, in-ternational arbitration, business relat-ed projects by development organi-zations and more. Committee meet-ings are held on a rotating basis at var-ious AmCham member locations around Tashkent. You may contact

the AmCham office or visit our calen-dar to find details about our upcom-ing meetings.

mission and activities of the committeeTo promote a favorable trade and invest-ment climate in Uzbekistan, facilitate the entrance of potential investors to Uzbekistan, and facilitate current trade and investment activities of AmCham members through:

$ Participation and support for gov-ernment initiatives aimed at improv-ing the trade and investment climate

$ Participation in and promotion of projects to improve the trade and in-

vestment climate implemented by oth-er organizations like EBRD, IFC, UNDP and Uzbek Chamber of Commerce

$ Sharing information with potential foreign investors regarding the busi-ness climate and opportunities in the market

$ Organization of meetings, seminars and round tables for AmCham mem-bers on trade and investment issues with participation of representatives of various government entities and/or other interested organizations;

$ Launching various projects and services for AmCham members to address their trade and investment needs.

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AMCHAM UZBEKISTAN

Join amCham famiLy

Gabil ahmadov

Gabil Ahmadov took over the position of Country Operation Manager for Coca-Cola in May 2016.

Gabil arrives in Tashkent with over 19 years of experience in the sphere of FMCG with multinational companies in CIS countries including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Afghanistan and Turkey.

Before moving to Uzbekistan, Gabil held the position of Market (Country) Manager in Azerbaijan for Caucasus and Central Asia Region, also with The Coca-Cola Company. His previ-ous work experience includes lead-ing positions with big multinationals in the FMCG field such as Henkel Central and Eastern Europe, and Colgate-Palmolive Central Asia, Caucasus and Belarus, among others.

Gabil speaks Azeri, English, Russian and Turkish.

hans-Ullrich ihm

Hans-Ullrich Ihm joined in April the team of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan as Senior Project Officer, responsible for economic and ecological projects.

Hans-Ullrich was previously in Tash-kent in 2012 , and before joining OSCE he wor ked as the Inter na tional Do-nors’ Coor dinator with the Exe cutive Com mittee of the Inter na tional Fund for Saving the Aral Sea on behalf of GIZ.

Before his assignments in Uzbe ki-stan, Hans-Ullrich headed the GIZ of-fice in Turkmenistan.

Hans-Ullrich’s professional life has been focused on development coop-eration. He has worked on projects of GIZ, KfW and other German develop-ment organizations in Russia, Ukraine and all five Central Asian countries. In Belarus, he represented a private German enterprise, and in the 1980’s worked at higher education institu-tions in Berlin.

pierre-paul antheunissens

Pierre-Paul Antheunissens is the ALSTOM Business Development Director for South CIS, and Country Director for Uzbekistan. Born in Belgium in 1966, Pierre-Paul holds a Master’s in Commercial and Financial Sciences. Pierre-Paul has worked on many international projects, with a strong focus on the Central Asia region. He first travelled to Uzbekistan in 1997 and was permanently based in here in Tashkent from 2006 through 2011.


welcome aBoard

Photo © U. S. Embassy Uzbekistan.

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new memBers

alstomAs a promoter of sustainable mobility, Alstom develops and markets systems, equipment and services for the railway sector. Alstom manages the widest range of solutions in the market—from high-speed trains to metros and tram-ways—and associated maintenance, modernization, infrastructure and sig-naling solutions. Alstom is a world leader in integrated railway systems. It record-ed sales of EUR 6.2 billion and booked EUR 10 billion of orders in the 2014/15 fis-cal year. Headquartered in France, Alstom is present in over 60 countries and employs 31,000 people today.

Head of the company: Pierre-Paul Antheunissens

Address: 12 Usman Nosir Str., 301, BC Grand, TashkentPhone: +998 (71) 148-2222Fax: +998 (71) 148-2221Website: www.alstom.com

ardena transportArdena Transport is a dynamic and de-veloping freight forwarding company which specializes in all types of freight worldwide, and also has a department of Removals and Relocations. Our com-pany is the exclusive agent of “Fesco Integrated Transport” the largest con-tainer operator in the CIS. We are also a local agent of MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) and work direct-ly with the largest railway and line operators (Russian, Kazakh, Uzbek,

Latvian, Chinese railways; PGK, VGK, Transcontainer Russia; and line op-erators such as MSC, Maersk, and CMA). Our Customers include: MAN Uzbekistan, General Motors Uzbekistan, UzChasys, Union Space, and other large manufacturers, exporters/im-porters in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Head of the company: Denis PavlenkoAddress: Tashkent, Afrosiyab Str., 4A, Grandtrade b. c.Phone: +998 (71) 252-2772Fax: +998 (71) 252-7373Email: [email protected]: www.ardenatransport.com

ge GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming in-dustry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, re-sponsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the “GE Store,” through which each busi-ness shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and in-tellect. Each invention further fuels in-novation and application across our in-dustrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers bet-


welcome aBoard

ter outcomes for customers by speak-ing the language of industry.

Head of the company: Ron PollettAddress: 107-B, Amir Temur Av. IBC Blok C, 4 fl. Of. 5Phone: +998 (71) 205-0281Email: [email protected]: www.ge.com

“kosta Legal” Law firmKosta Legal is a results-oriented law firm offering a wide range of legal services to both new entrants and well-established foreign investors in Uzbekistan. We are proud to have as our clients multi-national and Fortune 500 companies, and financial institu-tions including regional development banks, governments of foreign states as well as small and medium size busi-nesses and start-ups.

We h e l p o u r c l i e nt s n av i gate through the constantly evolving Uzbek le gal environment that is characteri-zed by frequent changes and fair-ly common ambiguity in actual appli-

cation of legal norms, which may lead to serious challenges, particularly for foreign investors. We at Kosta Legal are eminently qualified to address these challenges of operating a business in Uzbekistan.

Our law firm has the necessary le-gal expertise, resources and flexibili-ty to come on top of a matter of any complexity. Our particular interests are in oil and gas, energy, banking and finance, corporate law and compli-ance, real estate and construction.

Head of the company: Azizbek AkhmadjonovAddress: 107-B, Amir Timur str., Tashkent, UzbekistanPhone: +998 (71) 238-9428Fax: +998 (71) 235-0806Email: [email protected]: www.kosta.uz

“perspektiva stroy invest” LLC“Perspektiva Stroy Invest” Construction Company was founded in 1995 as a pi-

lot plant of concrete products by Mr. Ugur Akin. During the 21 years of its ac-tivity in the market of Uzbekistan, the company successfully completed a large number of serious projects and took a leading position in the construc-tion market of Uzbekistan. The compa-ny has built a reputation as a reliable partner, and always does it best to pro-fessionally perform its obligations. This allows the company to confidently look towards the future.

“Perspektiva Stroy Invest” LLC—a team of professionals with extensive experience, creative thinking, able to solve a full spectrum of tasks.

Head of the company: Ugur Akin-FounderAddress: 6, Amir Timur Street, Tashkent, UzbekistanPhone: +998 (71) 233-5097Fax: +998 (71) 233-8943Email: [email protected]: www.perspektiva.uz

Uznek Ltd.Uznek is a group of logistics, expedit-er, transport, and service companies. Major activities of the group include:

$ Full-range and stand-alone logis-tics services.

$ Logistics support for complex pro-jects areas of industry such as oil and gas, energy, mining, etc.

$ Ecology and eco-logistics.Our company has a customs broker

license (registration certificate) valid in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, EU, and Canada.

Head of the company: Zokir AskarovAddress: 1, Beshagach Str., Tashkent, IBFC NBUPhone: +998 (71) 244-3377Fax: +998 (71) 244-0070Email: [email protected]: www.nekgroup.com

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uzBekisTan: review oF macroeconomic indiCators, 2015

macroeconomic indicators January-december 2015

Billion SUMCompared to the

same period of the previous year

Gross domestic product 171,369.0 108.1

Industrial output 91,705.3 108.1

Agricultural production 42,280.4 106.5

Investment in fixed assets 40,737.3 109.8

Construction work 25,329.1 118.0

Transportation of goods, mln. tn 1,534.0 104.3

Freight turnover, mln. tn-km 88,868.7 104.1

Passengers, million 7,589.4 103.3

Passenger turnover, mln. pass.-km 105,795.7 105.3

Retail turnover 71,025.6 114.8

report alert

The gross domestic product (GDP) of Uzbekistan in January–December 2015 amounted to 171,369.0 billion SUM, or grew by 8.1 %.

According to the State Statistics Committee, the growth of industrial production by 8.1 % to 91,705.3 biillion SUM.In the reporting period, the volume of agricultural production increased on 6.5 % in 2015—up to 42,280.0 billion SUM,

Investment in fixed assets reached 40,737.3 billion SUM or increased by 9.8 %.Retail trade turnover of Uzbekistan in 2015 amounted to 71,025.6 billion SUM or increased by 14.8 % compared with

2014.

for more information contact afs office:

Phone: +998 (71) 234-9611Email : [email protected] site: www.afs-research.com


legislaTion

applicaTion For cHamBer memBersHip

Chamber membership Categories

Membership Category Qualifications Annual Dues

Vot

ing

Mem

ber

s Platinum Annual worldwide revenues of $100m and above

USD 4,000

Gold Annual worldwide revenues less than $100m and more than $5m

USD 3,000

Annual worldwide revenues less than $5m USD 1,500

No

n-v

otin

g m

emb

ers Silver Annual worldwide revenues less than $100m USD 1,000

Bronze Annual worldwide revenues less than $5m USD 600

Non-profit Registered as a non-profit organization USD 500

Non-resident Organization with no local representation/registration in Uzbekistan

USD 1,500

All categories give the member access to a full range of services and benefits including business de ve lopment function, the committee network, and all publications.

Non-voting members may not vote or sit on the Board of Directors.

1. Please indicate the category of membership for which you are applying: Membership is per cal-endar year. Enrollment is prorated by the number of months remaining in the calendar year.

Type of membership Annual Dues Type of membership Annual DuesG Platinum USD 4,000 G Bronze USD 600G Gold USD 3,000 G Non-profit USD 500G Gold USD 1,500 G Non-resident USD 1,500G Silver USD 1,000

2. I/We agree, if accepted, to be bound by the Chamber’s rules and regulations, and to pay the ap-propriate annual dues:

Name of company

Address

Tel. Fax E-mail

Head of firm in Uzbekistan:

Name Title / Position

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AMCHAM UZBEKISTAN

Representatives (voting if American Company)

(first alternate)

(second alternate)

3. Nationality of parent company:

G US G Uzbekistan G Other (please specify)

Place and Date of Incorporation

4. Type of company in Uzbekistan:

G Manufacturing facility G Sales/Representative office G Service facility

Brief description of activity:

Addresses of branches or other offices in Uzbekistan:

Specify relationship with firm in the USA (if any): branch, subsidiary, affiliate, joint venture, sales offices.

Give US name, complete address, telephone and fax number:

5. Please indicate the approximate amount invested into the economy in Uzbekistan:

G USD 1,000–10,000 G USD 100,000– 1,000,000G USD 10,000– 100,000 G More than USD 1 million

6. Number of employees in Uzbekistan at all locations:

G less than 20 G less than 50 G 50–100 7. Annual revenue:

G less than USD 100,000 G USD 100,000–500,000 G More than USD 500,000

Prepared by Date

Signature of applicant

Important notice: Information found on this application is for internal AmCham use only and will be handled as business confidential.


AMCHAM UZBEKISTAN

memBersHip lisT

plaTinum memBerBAT UzbekistanDavid Le Blond, 120-5555CNH IndustrialOybek Burkhanov, 120-7450Coca-ColaGabil AhmadovErnst & YoungAnvar Azamov, 140-6482GM Operations UzbekistanHector Villarreal, 280-6433PwCOtabek Muhammadiev, 120-6101Sasol Synfuels InternationalJames Vaughan, 113-4080UcellTõnu Grünberg, 180-0000

gold memBerAKTE LLCHugo Minderhoud, 252-2402Avialeasing Aviation CompanyIgor Smirnov, 120-4950/52

"Bo'stonlig Sut" JVJamilya Askarova, 120-4965Central Asia Seed CompanyAzizkhan Akhmedov, 291-0073Colgate – PalmoliveJacques Martin, 252-3014Daewoo Pack Co, Ltd.Jang Dae Won, 295-0573Hotel International TashkentBekhzod Zufarov, 120-7000Hotel Radisson Blu TashkentPeter Andersson, 120-4900Hotel Wyndham TashkentAdil Onar, 120-3700InterConcepts Inc.Charles L. Rudd, 239-1491OLSOFTEvgeniy Olevskiy, 256-3291

Po latqurilma JSCAzad Sharapov, 254-1409

“Perspektiva Stroy Invest” LLCUgur Akin, 233-5097SEAF- SME Investment ManagementDonald Nicholson II, 129-3040Transcontinental JV LLCJanna Popkova, 120-3838Train Consultancy LLCMashrab Saidov, 235-0424WCH Service bureauAlexander Tulupov, 254-3621

silver memBerAlstomPierre-Paul Antheunissens, 148-2222Ansher Investment LLP (UK)Nozim Kabilov, 268-9970Air Astana in UzbekistanYevgeniy Krutov, 140-3002

Bechtel International SystemsDavid Bjorkbom, 120-4425Carlsberg UzbekistanVivek Sharma, 140-9999Colibri Law FirmZafar Malikov, 120-4778Deloitte va Touche LLCErkin Ayupov, 120-4445General Electric CompanySaidolim Artikov, 205-0281

“Grata” Law FirmBakhodir Jabborov, 233-2623Ingo-Uzbekistan Insurance CompanyRustam Turaev, 150-9999JV Indorama Kokand extile LLCDeepak Raina, 253-8325JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. UzbekistanTokhir Sultanov, 140-3770KDB Bank UzbekistanInjoo Kim, 120-8000/01Ram Dis TicaretLyubov Belokon, 252-6779/81SEP Nestle UzbekistanSergey Tratsevskiy, 140-0600

Bronze memBerAFS-Research CompanyAleksey Kirilov, 234-9611/12Agesa GrupMurat Aksahin, 280-6243Ahlers InternationalDiana Tomena, 252-7120

29WWW.AMCHAM.UZ

AMCHAM UZBEKISTAN

“Ardena Transport” SIATamara Matveeva, 252-2772Atlantik TradeFarkhad Yusupov, 140-4868Baker Tilly TashkentGuzal Islamova, 150-1512Carolina Technologies, Ltd.Alexander Veksler, 281-4362/63/64Compass ConsultingUlugbek Hojiahmedov, 255-4693Crowe Horwath Int. (Audit-As)Vera Bell, 241-4618Dentons CA LimitedMarla Valdez, 120-6946Education Standard Consulting GroupElena Sergeeva, 268-7544Elan Express LLCBabur Asuraliev, 150-2550Eurobasis LLCDr. Taymurot Yunusmetov, 254-4563FAYSEL Construction LogisticsYuksel Adana, 255-5216Globalink Logistics GroupKhalid Farooq, 129-9900Global Translation ServiceRuslan Daminov, 914-7627Gosselin World Wide MovingPim Sterckx, 186-6233Grant ThorntonNematulla Karimov, 234-4632Holos Ltd.Khalmurat Manaev, 252-7185/86HR Capital Consulting (HRC)Aziz Kurbanov, 150-4230

Iberiasia TourFarkhod Sabirov, 255-4990Imeon Logistics Group Ltd.David O`Connor, 150-1856International Certificate System Group LLCDr. Shervin Mirzadeh, 236-2341SE “Ishan Group”Khwaja Zia Ahmed, 262-0012KN Ibrakom FZcoRavshan Fazilov, 254-0019Legalmax Law FirmMukhammadali Makhmudov, 212-4732Kosta Legal Law FirmAzizbek Akhmadjonov, 238-9428Marvel JuiceMaksud Khudayberdiev, 234-2671Makro Supermarket (OOO “Beijan Trade”)Nazarov BahtiyarMega Prodex LLCNormukhamedov M., 246-1611Mercury Service Events & Travel Management LLCMurod Makhmudov, 235-7771M&M Militzer & Muench UzbekistanKhurshid Kasimdjanov, 140-0003Move One LogisticsAtabek Alimdjanov, 235-1843Namuna-Diyor Private Scientific Industrial EnterpriseFurkat Salimov, 255-3278Nano Telecom Ltd.Evgeniy Vishnevskiy, 205-0000/53

NeftgazkipavtomatikaTojiev Ruzimurat, 268-2401Oasis FES LLCDale Henry, 237-5315Ramada HotelDinesh Upreti, 140-6000Sitara International Ltd.Shiraz Poonja, 281-4148Stomatologiya BudushegoZafar Usmanov, 232-2022Sushen Medicamentos Pvt Ltd.Parishuram Marathe, 150-0214UzNEKZokir Askarov, 244-3377Wakefield Inspection Service Ltd.Philip Hesketh, 273-1071

non-proFiT non-voTingAMBiTHikmat Abdurakhmanov, 269-9339The British School of TashkentDavid Kirkham, 262-6020Canadian ConsulateAlexander Antonov, 120-7270JETROManabu Shimoyashiro, 120-5591OSCEGyörgy Szabo, 140-0468/69/70Tashkent International SchoolDavid Henry, 291-9670/71/72Tashkent International ClinicMatthew Kuschel, 291-0142

Honorary memBersADBTakeo Konishi, 140-1920IMF Resident Representative OfficeGalina Kostina, 233-4243UNDPStefan Priesner, 120-3450/51World Bank Country Office/IFCJunghun Cho, 238-5950/28IFCZafar Khashimov, 120-2454/45

non-residenTUniversity of New MexicoDr. Gregory Gleason, +49 (8821) 750-2526National Bank of PakistanDildora Yuldasheva, 237-1991

individualAndrew Kemp Maul, 903-5684Ilkhom Khodjakulov


AMCHAM UZBEKISTAN

TaX & accounTing commiTTee

Vera Bell

agriculTure and Food processing suBcommiTTee

Dale Henry

corporaTe & social responsiBiliTy commiTTee

Rodica Verbeniuc

Tourism & HospiTaliTy indusTry commiTTee

Johanna Wohlmeyer Otabek Mukhammadiev

THe memBersHip commiTTee

cHairs oF amcHam commiTTees 2016

Trade & invesTmenT commiTTee

Benjamin Schneider Angie Cairns Kushcel

31WWW.AMCHAM.UZ

AMCHAM UZBEKISTAN

Board oF direcTors 2016

Timothy BuganskyEx-Officio BOD member, U.S. Embassy in Tashkent

James VaughanSasol Synfuels International

treasurer:Hugo MinderhoudAKTE LLC

Hector VillarrealGeneral Motors, Uzbekistan

David Le BlondUzBAT

Mirpayoz MirsaatovOLSOFT

Vice-president:Tõnu GrünbergUcell

OtabekMukhammadievPwC

Tatyana BystrushkinaExecutive Director

president:Donald Nicholson IISEAF-SME Investment Management

Gabil AhmadovCoca-Cola

Business Connections is semi-annual and annual reports for members that are published 2 times a year for American Cham-ber of Commerce in Uzbekistan.

Executive Director:Tatyana Bystrushkina

Editorial Board:Donald Nicholson IIHugo MinderhoudTatyana BystrushkinaLyubov BelokonAndrew Kemp MaulAlexey KirilovLola ShaislamovaJulia BakhmatchRano Kosimova

Contributing Authors:Donald Nicholson IITatyana BystrushkinaJulia BakhmatchBenjamin Schneider

Address: 4 - B , Afrosiab Str. , Tashkent, 100031, UzbekistanPhone: +998 (71) 140-0877Fax: +998 (71) 140-0877Email: [email protected]: www.amcham.uz

The AmCham Uzbekistan and authors declare that they have compiled this document care fully and to the best of their know ledge. However, no warran-ty or rep resentation is made to the accuracy of completeness of the information contained in this document. The AmCham Uz be ki stan and authors assume no liability whatsoever for any damage resulting from the use of this document or its contents.

This bi-annual free-of-charge advertising bulletin is not con-sidered to be a subject of mass communication and may be dis-tributed free of charge without registration among limited num-ber of entities and individuals.

Designer: K. Abidjanov

Printed by CLOSSAAddress: 93, Avliyo-ota Street, Tashkent 100015Phone: +998 (71) 281-3998


AMCHAM UZBEKISTAN

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