American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce
BUSINESS NEWSLETTER
  
Week in Review:
 
May 22, 2015 - May 29, 2015
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Dear AUCC Members and Friends:

 

Happy Holidays and best wishes for a prosperous New Year! 

 

We would like to express our gratitude to all AUCC members who, through all these years, have proven to be Uzbekistan's true allies and have been nothing but dedicated, reliable, honest and most conscientious business partners inspired to expand the bilateral relationship, business climate and promote development to enhance the lives of the people of Uzbekistan and the US.  

 

Our companies recognize that despite the global economic slowdown, Uzbekistan has managed to secure successfully greater macroeconomic stability and growth.  We applaud the Government of Uzbekistan for their continuous process to improve the operating business environment that US companies benefit from and fiscal discipline that has enhanced economic growth.  We greatly appreciate our own US Government for their continuous dialogue with their Uzbek counterparts on how to use trade and investment engagement as a pillar of the bilateral relations.

 

We stand ready to use our business acumen to facilitate the Uzbek and US Governments' efforts to attract more American companies and helping those who are already here generate even more success stories for the world to hear. We hope for the US and Uzbek Governments' support in helping us multiply our achievements and generate more projects and contracts that will make our nations achieve greater prosperity, stability and higher rates of development. 

 

Happy Holidays!  May 2015 bring greater prosperity to the American and Uzbek people. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

Carolyn Lamm, AUCC Chairperson

Timothy McGraw, AUCC President

 

If your company is interested in joining AUCC, please contact our office at 202-509-3744 or [email protected].  We invite you to be part of our organization and participate in our activities and events.   

 

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In This Issue:

Established in 1993, the American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce (AUCC) is a private, non-profit trade association representing interests of U.S. businesses ranging in size from small private enterprises to large, multinational corporations conducting business in Uzbekistan.

Our Mission: To advocate the views of the business community to ensure that private sector positions are considered during the development of key policies that impact American businesses and the future of U.S.-Uzbekistan relations.

Our Objective: To serve the needs of its members by strengthening commercial relations between the United States and Uzbekistan.

The Korea Herald

May 28, 2015 

 

The leaders of South Korea and Uzbekistan on Thursday agreed to upgrade their partnership to bolster cooperation in fields including energy and infrastructure projects, as well as information technology and health care.

During a summit at Cheong Wa Dae, President Park Geun-hye and Uzbek President Islam Karimov agreed to support joint ventures between businesses from the two countries on oil, gas, petrochemicals and solar energy and to expand cooperation in launching medical centers in the central Asian country.

Karimov expressed keen interest in Park's signature creative economy drive, calling it a successful development tool devised to deal with the slowing global economy and growing regional tension.

He also vowed to support South Korea's vision of peaceful unification and to join the regional efforts to resolve North Korea's nuclear threats. 

Under the agreement, the two sides planned to encourage business projects that link Korean firms' technological know-how and capital with Uzbekistan's rich natural resources. Tashkent said it was ready to create a favorable business environment for Korean companies.

"The two sides agreed to collaborate on large-scale projects in Uzbekistan to introduce advanced technology and attract direct investment from South Korean firms," according to a joint statement issued after the summit.

Cheong Wa Dae said the agreement between the two sides would help Asia's fourth-largest economy create a new growth engine and also strengthen bilateral ties to promote its initiative aimed at linking railways between Asia and Europe. President Park has been calling for international support in her vision of linking roads and railways across the continent to connect South Korea directly to Europe, through North Korea, Russia and China.

The two leaders also observed the signing of memorandums of understanding on issues including technological development, information technology and security.

In particular, the two sides agreed to equally recognize driver's licenses issued in both countries, allowing Korean and Uzbek travelers or residents to drive vehicles without having to go through additional tests.

Koreans in Uzbekistan, however, will be required to carry their licenses along with a translated version of the Korean identification. The Uzbek government also agreed to exempt social security fees for members of Korean firms doing business in Uzbekhistan.

The summit was held on the first day of the Uzbek president's three-day visit in Seoul, his first overseas destination since he was reelected in March, Cheong Wa Dae officials said. The president's move shows his commitment to promoting friendly ties with South Korea, they added.

Karimov has visited South Korea seven times since 1991.

Park first met her Uzbek counterpart last year, as part of her trip to Central Asia.

Uzbekistan is South Korea's largest trading partner in Central Asia. The country with a population of 30 million is the largest market in the region. Last year, the two-way trade stood at $1.9 billion.

 

Korean Times

May 26, 2015 

 

The Park Geun-hye administration is sharing expertise in how to establish online government to Uzbekistan officials as part of a six-month education program in Seoul.

Thirteen Uzbek officials are taking part in the "2015 Global Leadership Enhancement Program," to learn about Seoul's advanced information and communications technology (ICT) and to adopt ICT as part of its administrative system.

"Korea has a competitive edge in e-government services, and its strength has been acknowledged by the international community," said Djalalov Muzaffar Mukhitdinovich, head of Uzbekistan's ICT development strategy planning and IT convergence department. "Uzbekistan should learn from Korea's experience; it is critical for our country."

The Uzbek government established a new ICT ministry in February and has been promoting plans to reform the overall administrative system by adopting ICT skills.

The Uzbek official expressed high hopes to learn practical know-how from the long-term program, citing Korea's competitiveness in the ICT field. Seoul has ranked first in the United Nations' e-government assessment for three consecutive years.

"We know things are hard to change within a short period of time. But our preparation is under way," said Bobomuradov Khurshid Makhmudovich, Uzbekistan's first vice-rector at Tashkent University of Information Technologies.

The official said the Uzbek government is seeking to establish online infrastructure for better administration.

The program kicked off in April as part of the two nations' government-level cooperation in the ICT area. Involved are the Ministry of Government Administration Home Affairs (MOGAHA), National Information Society Agency (NIA), and Central Officials Training Institute (COTI).

Until October, the program will provide diverse lectures on ICT-based administrative procedures and onsite training at local IT companies, public institutions and universities. Trainees are scheduled to visit the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, and companies like Samsung SDS, LG Display Factory.

Seoul and Tashkent have recently increased technology exchanges.

The MOGAHA signed a memorandum of understanding with Uzbekistan on e-government cooperation in 2014. In February, 2013, Seoul established an e-government cooperation center in order to promote joint business with Uzbekistan.

The government has been strengthening its ties with Uzbekistan under President Park Geun-hye's "Eurasia initiative" The initiative, proposed in October 2013, is a vision the president formulated for regional and economic cooperation between Europe and Asia.

On a visit to Uzbekistan in 2014, Park and her counterpart Islam Karimov agreed to strengthen practical cooperation in areas including trade and investment, the energy sector, science, and ICT.

Uzbekistan is South Korea's biggest trading partner in Central Asia. Trade between the two stood at $1.9 billion last year.

Uzbek President Karimov is scheduled to visit Korea on May 28. He chose Korea as the first nation to visit after his re-election

 

Azernews

May 26, 2015 

 

Uzbekistan has the potential to become a strong regional economy with a solid infrastructure and a large consumer market.

The Uzbek government will allocate about $200 million in external infrastructure to Kandym gas processing plant, the construction of which will be carried out by the Oil Company LUKOIL .

For this purpose, the Uzbek Government issued a resolution "On organization of construction of objects of external infrastructure of Kandym gas processing plant" on May 19, 2015 according to RIA News.

The resolution contains basic provisions on the construction and implementation as well as modernization and expansion of the project.

According to the resolution, the State Joint Stock Company Uzbekenergo and the State Joint Railway Company Uzbekistan Temir Yollari will construct the external electricity and railway infrastructure of Kandym gas processing plant in 2015-2017. A 220 kilovolt electricity supply line will supply existing substations to Kandym gas processing plant. Their modernization and expansion is included in the project - July 1st, 2017.

Moreover, Uzbekistan Temir Yollari will overview the construction of railway transport infrastructure and branch lines to Kandym gas processing plant, including internal railroads - October 2015.

The Uzbek government also issued instructions for the successful construction of an access railway track, including internal tracks to Kandym gas processing plant. With this in mind the Ministry of Economy, Uzmetkombinat, Uzstroymaterialy and Uzbekneftegaz should provide metal, cement and fuel products to Uzbekistan Temir Yollari and Uzbekenergo in accord with their request on direct agreements and regulated prices within the project.

Under the resolution the government also entrusted Uzbekneftegaz and Uzbekenergo to construct intersections of existing gas pipelines and high voltage electricity lines of electricity.

The Uzbekistan State Customs Committee was committed to carry out customs registration of goods in the framework of the Production Sharing Agreement in relation to the Kandym fields, as well as Khauzak and Shady and Kungrad sites until April 1st, 2019.

The Production Sharing Agreement for the Kandym-Khauzak-Shady-Kungrad project was signed in June 2004 and a month later an operating company was incorporated under the name of LUKOIL Uzbekistan Operating Company (a subsidiary of LUKOIL Overseas). The PSA for a term of 35 years entered into force in November 2004, and field operations began at the same time. The project participants are LUKOIL Overseas (90 percent) and the National Holding Company Uzbekneftegaz (10 percent) according to LUKOIL official site.

On February 16, 2015 LUKOIL and Hyundai Engineering signed a contract for procurement, construction of the Kandym gas processing plant and field infrastructure development worth US$2.66 billion.

The total amount for the project is US$2.01 billion, which includes engineering, procurement, and construction. It is scheduled to be completed by the second half of 2018. This contract made a much stronger position for Hyundai Engineering in the plant market of Central Asia.

The main purpose of this Project is the KGF development and the pool of gas processing plant. The capacity of the field and the gas processing plant is estimated to stand at up to 8 billion cubic meter per year of natural gas - more than 200 thousand tons per year of gas condensate and about 190 thousand tons per year of sulfur from the Kandym gas field, which is about 520km southwest from Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

The construction of the Kandym gas processing plant is LUKOIL's largest investment project in Uzbekistan. The project will create over 2,000 jobs. During the peak construction period, it will employ more than 10,000 workers at various facilities.

The Kandym project includes six gas condensate fields: Kandy, Kuvachi-Alat, Batteries, Parsankul, Hodge and Western Hoxha.

 

AUCC

May 29, 2015 

 

INVITATION TO ATTEND

 

2015 U.S.-UZBEKISTAN ANNUAL BUSINESS FORUM 

 

8.30 am - 4.00 pm

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

 

Pavilion Room

The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20004

 

UZBEKISTAN KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Mr. Elyor Ganiev, Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan (confirmed)
 
US SPEAKERS:
 
Ms. Nisha Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State, South and Central Asian Affairs, US Department of State(invited)
 
Mr. Michael Lally, Executive Deputy Assistant Secretary, Europe, Middle East and Africa, US Department of Commerce (confirmed)
 
Mr. Raymond Ellis, Vice President & Manager, Global Business Development Division, Export-Import Bank of the United States (confirmed)

The event will be followed by a reception to welcome members of the official Uzbek delegation and the forum's participants
 
More information about the forum's speakers and agenda to follow.

 

Organized by the American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce

 

Sponsored by The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

 

 

For more sponsorship opportunities, please contact AUCC at 202-509-3744 and [email protected]

 

AUCC would like to invite all interested parties to participate in the 2015 US-Uzbekistan Annual Business Forum and hear the Uzbek Government plans and opportunities for our members' increased trade and investment engagement in the market that can help US become a leading business partner.  AUCC members will also share their success stories to encourage more US companies to do business and invest in Uzbekistan.    
AGENDA:

 

The American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce (AUCC) is the only trade association in the United States and Uzbekistan that exclusively represents the business interests of U.S. companies active in the Uzbek market. Established in 1993 and based in Washington, D.C., AUCC is the first bilateral trade organization that successfully promotes trade and investment ties, cultural exchanges and bonds of friendship between the United States and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

 

In performing its functions, AUCC places primary emphasis on serving the needs and interests of its members, namely:  
The Boeing Company, Case New Holland Industrial, The Coca-Cola Company, FMN International, General Electric, General Motors, Harris Corporation, Honeywell, Indsur Stelcor, Inc., Lockheed Martin, Nukem Inc., Rio Tinto, Solar Turbines, Sustainment Solutions, Inc., White & Case LLP and Zeppelin International AG. These companies are united by one common cause: promotion of trade and investment ties, cultural exchanges and bonds of friendship between the United States of America and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

 

Today, Uzbekistan represents the largest market in the Central Asia region with a population of almost 30 million people, an annual GDP growth of 8% and a well-established and diversified economy. American companies invested more than $500 million in the Uzbek economy during the period 1992 to 2012.  In addition, U.S. exports to the Republic of Uzbekistan amounted to more than $3.3 billion. The year 2012 is a good example when US exports to Uzbekistan totaled more than $285 million compared to $100 million in 2011 and $101 million in 2010.  In 2013, the trade levels continued to increase reaching a record $386 million.  During the first nine months of 2014, the US-Uzbekistan trade turnover amounted to $281 million.  While this is good news, the volume of U.S. exports and investments in this largest Central Asian market is lower than those of Uzbekistan's near neighbors, including Russia with its' 2013 exports to Uzbekistan reaching more than $7.1 billion; Сhina - $5.2 billion and Korea - $2.1 billion.  

 

To register and learn more about the forum, please click here.  Seating is limited.  

 

Please respond by Monday, October 5, 2015 to confirm your participation.

 

Admission Fee:

 

$00.00 - AUCC members ONLY and the US Government offices

 

$100.00 - All other companies and organizations

 

Cancellations received within 48 hours of the event are non-refundable. 

 
Click on the link below to register or RSVP.
Register Now!
For more information about the event, please contact AUCC office at [email protected] or call us at 202-509-3744.  

 

Thank you for your attention and response.  We look look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, October 13, 2015. 
 
Sincerely,

 

The American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce
202-509-3744
 

 


CONTACT INFORMATION:aucc logo
The American-Uzbekistan
Chamber of Commerce
 
1300 I Street, N.W.,
Suite 720W
 
Washington, DC 20005
 
phone: 202.509.3744
 
[email protected]

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