American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce

NOT A MEMBER YET?
Becoming a member of AUCC helps your company unlock business opportunities in Uzbekistan.
Quick Links:

In This Issue:
  1. The trade finance gap - the difference between the trade financing needed versus what is being provided - is estimated at $1.6 trillion worldwide.
  2. An estimated 40% of trade finance proposals worldwide come from Asia, which has the world's highest rejection rate.
  3. Nearly half of the world's trade finance gap, or about $692 billion, is in developing countries in Asia, including India and the People's Republic of China.
  4. More than half (56%) of trade finance proposals by small and medium-sized enterprises are rejected.
  5. About a third (34%) of trade finance proposals by large corporations are rejected while only 10% of proposals by multinational corporations face rejection.
  6. Trade finance proposals are rejected generally because they are seen as too risky, or because of regulatory constraints.
  7. Small businesses report that 25% more trade finance would enable them to hire 20% more people.
  8. Woman-owned firms face higher than average trade finance rejection rates.
  9. An estimated 37% of small businesses in Asia that are rejected for formal trade finance turn to informal sources of financing, such as personal loans.
  10. Financial technology, or FinTech, can be used for peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding but 70% of businesses indicated they are unfamiliar with digital finance.
  11. The Asian Development Bank's Trade Finance Program supports about 2,000 transactions a year valued at $3.5 billion.
  12. More than 75% of the transactions supported by ADB are for small- and medium- sized enterprises.

Leaders at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China emphasized the need for sustainable and inclusive growth, and welcomed the launch of the G20 Global Platform on Inclusive Business. The platform is a global partnership that seeks to accelerate the adoption of inclusive business policies and programs.
"We will work to ensure that our economic growth serves the needs of everyone and benefits all countries and all people including in particular women, youth and disadvantaged groups, generating more quality jobs, addressing inequalities and eradicating poverty so that no one is left behind," the G20 leaders said in their year-end Communique.
"We acknowledge the important role of inclusive business in development, and welcome the establishment of the G20 Global Platform on Inclusive Business and its future actions. We welcome the G20 Inclusive Business Report for the 2016 Summit."
Inclusive businesses directly reach people living at the base of the economic pyramid. The G20's latest inclusive business report highlights inclusive business' important role in contributing to the 2030 Agenda by reducing poverty, shrinking inequality, and contributing to sustainable economic growth. It identifies the challenges facing inclusive businesses and outlines possibilities for future action by the G20.
"The G20's leadership on inclusive business has been powerful. The launch of the Platform on Inclusive Business and the high level of engagement by G20 members to share their experience in supporting inclusive business brings a much-needed focus on the policy challenges that these companies face in trying to reach people at the base of the pyramid," said Eriko Ishikawa, Global Head of the Inclusive Business Team at International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
"Inclusive business approaches can contribute greatly towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The G20 is clearly supporting this potential with their leaders' statement and endorsement of the Global Platform on Inclusive Business, giving policy makers a platform to learn from good practices and create enabling environments for pro-poor and pro-business solutions," said Magdy Martínez-Solimán, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of Bureau for Policy and Programme Support.
As part of its work on inclusive business in 2016, the G20 conducted research on how specific policy instruments support inclusive business and ran a series of workshops to help policymakers learn from each other's experiences on the topic. The G20 also invited companies to voice their opinions on inclusive business policy challenges. All of the results of the 2016 activities, including a series of country case studies, are posted on the G20 Global Platform on Inclusive Business website. 
The G20's efforts on inclusive business are jointly supported by the World Bank Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
IFC is the largest global investor in inclusive business having committed over $14 billion to over 500 companies. IFC captured its experience in inclusive business in its November 2014 report: Shared Prosperity through Inclusive Business.
The UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) supports the private sector and foundations to become transformative partners in development through research, advocacy for inclusive business, facilitation of public-private dialogue and brokering partnerships. It also hosts the Business Call to Action (BCtA) initiative, a multilateral alliance established in 2008. BCtA highlights the contributions of its 137 member companies to the evolving field of inclusive business. 

Invitation to Attend

2016 U.S.-UZBEKISTAN 
ANNUAL BUSINESS FORUM
 
8.00 am - 4.00 pm

Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Keynote address by:
 
Deputy Assistant Secretary 
Michael A. Lally 
U.S. Department of Commerce


U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan 
Pamela Spratlen
U.S. Embassy Tashkent

(agenda to follow)

Click here to register

PLATINUM SPONSOR
GE
SILVER SPONSOR

White & Case
Please join us at the 2016 U.S.-Uzbekistan Annual Business Forum in Tashkent, which is a signature event by the AUCC member-companies.  

The AUCC delegation to Uzbekistan will be led by the chamber's Chairperson Carolyn B. Lamm and President Steven T. Nadherny.  We are pleased to announce that Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Michael A. Lally will travel to Uzbekistan with AUCC member-companies to give stronger boost to our efforts and further promote bilateral trade dialogue.  Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, Elyor Ganiev, is expected to represent the Government of Uzbekistan. 

"We are delighted to take our signature event to Uzbekistan this year and have DAS Michael Lally's support and participation.  Without a doubt, AUCC is the best example of the Private-Public Partnership and the most effective conduit for the US bilateral trade with Uzbekistan. AUCC has successfully channeled our assessment and vision of the country's technological and industrial modernization through the forum and used it as a platform to declare our readiness and will to better serve the interests of the American and Uzbek peoples," said AUCC Chairperson Lamm. "The chamber sincerely hopes that our commercial aspirations will continue to be supported by the Governments of the US and Uzbekistan that have both outlined business and commerce as a pillar of their bilateral agenda.  We are grateful to DAS Michael Lally for his leadership and attention to this part of the world," added AUCC President Nadherny.   

AUCC is a private, non-governmental, 501 (c)(6) trade association that was established in 1993 in Washington, DC.  The chamber is the oldest business group in the US and the Republic of Uzbekistan that exclusively represents commercial interests of the US corporations before the governments of our two countries.  

REGISTRATION DEADLINE:

Register here to indicate your interest in the event. Registration deadline is Monday, September 26, 2016.
 
SPONSORSHIP: 

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact AUCC at info@aucconline.com. 

VISA, HOTEL AND TRANSPORTATION IN TASHKENT: 

AUCC will provide assistance with visa, hotel and transportation for AUCC members and guests. Please contact AUCC at info@aucconline.com for details.  

APPLICATION FEE: 

Free for AUCC members (will be verified) and US Government representatives.  

$1,000 per person for all other guests and participants - The fee is non-refundable. 

Click here to make a payment and register for the event. 

CONTACT INFORMATION:aucc logo
The American-Uzbekistan
Chamber of Commerce
 
1030 15th Street, N.W.,
Suite 555W
 
Washington, DC 20005
 
phone: 202.509.3744
 
info@aucconline.com

www.aucconline.com 


 © 2016 American - Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce. All rights reserved.