Ozan Ozkural

Exactly the sort of policies and priorities which Kazakhstan's President needs to pursue. As the WB recently assessed, this country has an incredable opportunity to grow rapidly over the coming five years. These policy objectives are example on how this can be achieved. Go Central Asian Snow Leopards 👍

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TBC Bank Group PLC Uzbekistan Secures $10 million from EBRD, Aims to Expand Financial Inclusion of Women Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Group operations in Uzbekistan, commented:  “This loan from the EBRD not only further diversifies our own funding base, but it is also a significant step forward in our mission to enhance financial inclusion for women in Uzbekistan, as we expand our lending business. By empowering and supporting women and their ventures, we aim to drive sustainable economic growth and foster a more inclusive financial landscape.” https://lnkd.in/d6nXnC3t Andi Aranitasi Luke Cornforth Vakhtang Butskhrikidze Andrew Keeley Rajeev Sawhney 🌎 #fintech #finance #banking #paytech #payments #fintechnews #paymentsnews

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The EBRD will assist in preparing one of the largest banks in Uzbekistan, Asakabank, for privatization. The EBRD will provide necessary pre-privatization support in the form of recommendations, knowledge exchange, technical assistance, and may consider the possibility of pre-privatization investment in the bank's share capital. #uzbekistan #ebrd #assistance #banking #privatization #financial #sector #investments

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The outlook is broadly positive but domestic and external risks remain. The authorities’ strong reform efforts, most notably on energy, privatization, and SOEs, have continued to improve economic prospects. Real GDP growth is projected to remain robust at 5.4 percent in 2024—supported by buoyant domestic demand—and rise slightly to 5.5 percent in 2025. https://lnkd.in/dRJ6Zztv

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New investment law in Uzbekistan aims to boost investor confidence Uzbekistan, aligning with its "Uzbekistan 2030" strategy, is striving to create favorable conditions for investors by the end of the decade. 👉Details — https://lnkd.in/eurSxYWQ Tashkent International Investment Forum Tarik Sahovic Thomas Emanuel Dans, CFA #UzbekistanInvestmentLaw #InvestorConfidence #Uzbekistan2030 #InvestmentStrategy #FavorableConditions #EconomicDevelopment #InvestmentClimate #BusinessOpportunities #RegulatoryReform #InvestmentPolicy

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🎉 The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic and EBRD Partner to Champion Women’s Financial Empowerment with the #WEFinanceCode 🎉 Melis Turgunbaev, Chairman of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Mark Bowman, EBRD Vice President for Policy and Partnerships, formalized an MOU on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings to advance the WE Finance Code initiative and expand financial access for #WSMEs. The WE Finance Code supports the development of data-driven policies and drives actions to create a financial ecosystem that fosters leadership and #economicinclusion for #womenentrepreneurs. By taking this step, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic reaffirms its commitment to inclusive growth and #financialempowerment. Chairman Turgunbaev underscored the significance of the MOU, stating, “Expanding financial access for women-led enterprises is essential not only for economic prosperity but also for fostering a more equitable society. The WE Finance Code will help enhance our data capabilities and identify new opportunities for WSMEs, ultimately broadening financial access for women entrepreneurs across #Kyrgyzstan. We trust that the signing of the Memorandum will serve as a catalyst for new opportunities and initiatives, empowering women to realize their potential.” ➡️ Learn more about the WE Finance Code at www.wefinancecode.org

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The EBRD Vice President visits Ukraine.  A senior delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), headed by Matteo Patrone, Vice President, Banking, visited Kyiv this week for talks with Ukraine’s government and significant energy company heads on supporting the energy sector in the wake of major Russian attacks on the country’s power generation facilities.  With energy security at the top of Ukraine's agenda, the Bank has reworked its 2024 investment plans to address the urgent Ukrainian energy needs arising from the recent attacks. In Kyiv, the EBRD discussed progress on winterisation and emergency energy generation projects, which are currently being prepared.  The EBRD has significantly stepped up its investment in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale war on the country, deploying €4.6 billion there since 2022, of which at least €1 billion has been to energy companies Ukrenergo, Naftogaz and Ukrhydroenergo.   On Wednesday, the EBRD launched its Energy Security Support Facility (ESSF), a landmark programme enabling Ukraine’s financial sector to provide better access to financing for energy security investments in Ukraine.  The EBRD guarantees to partner banks under the ESSF programme will enable up to €700 million of finance supporting local firms, municipalities, and households to buy generators and invest in other decentralised energy generation, energy storage, and energy efficiency measures. Ukrgasbank and PrivatBank were the first to sign for the portfolio-risk-sharing facility, for a total of €325 million.  Read more on the official website: https://rb.gy/g75w1s  #EBRD #EU #EU4business #SMEs #WarInUkraine #StandWithUkraine

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Great article, lots of stats and useful information here. The World Bank estimates that developing the middle corridor can be a serious driver for Kazakhstan's economy in the coming decades: "The Middle Corridor is the shortest multimodal trade route that utilizes a combination of rail, road, and sea transportation to connect China and Europe. Starting in China, the route passes through railway lines at Dostyk or Khorgos/Altynkol to the port of Aktau in Kazakhstan, then crosses the Caspian Sea to the port of Baku in Azerbaijan, and traverses Georgia before reaching European Union countries. The route is around 3,000 kilometers shorter than Russia’s Northern Corridor. This corridor not only decreases transit times between China and Europe from 19 days to 12 days but also addresses sanctions-compliance issues by bypassing Russia."

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New Developments in Kazakhstan’s Laws on Project Finance and Syndicated Loans ALUMNI Partners wishes to highlight a number of important changes to Kazakhstan’s laws with a potentially significant impact on the country’s financial market and access to it for foreign banks in view of liberalisation of the syndicated loan regulatory framework. Read more in our alert: https://lnkd.in/eE8QuvRU

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Creating the right environment to build trust and increase EU investments into Kazakhstan's energy and transport infrastructure will be key to diversifying the economy and shifting to the production of more value added products. This platform will surely help in that effort: "Vassilenko discussed the effectiveness of the BEC platform in strengthening the business partnership, noting the signing of 41 agreements worth $6.3 billion during the Kazakh-German Business Forum. He called on European partners to expand investments in Kazakhstan, considering the application of sustainability principles across all sectors of the economy."

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#Kazakhstan QIC is Kazakhstan’s institution for private equity investment with a portfolio managed in partnership with over 50 renowned international institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds, including Mubadala, Gulf Capital, CITIC Group, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Kazakhstan is witnessing record levels of foreign direct investment, with $28 billion recorded in 2022—a nearly 18% increase from 2021. While major mining, energy, and infrastructure sectors attract significant capital, QIC emphasized expanding investment opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to foster inclusive economic growth. https://lnkd.in/dqry_5s4

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Uzbekistan’s growth is being fuelled by an increase in remittances and tourist arrivals. The Regional Economic Prospects report notes the strengthening of the country’s services and industrial production sectors. The EBRD expects Uzbekistan’s economy to expand by 6.0 per cent in both 2024 and 2025 on continued market-oriented reforms and infrastructure investments. However, an energy deficit, which has already led to an increase in mineral-fuel imports, could pose challenge and limit growth opportunities. https://lnkd.in/dTPzshW7

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Thrilled to Participate in the 8th Ukraine Investment Roadshow in London! 🌟 I am honored to have been part of this incredible event, sharing Bank Lviv and FDI attraction insights and experiences on the panel. Special thanks to Stephen Butler for organizing such a successful roadshow, Ihor Olekhov and Tetyana Dovgan from CMS for the invitation and many thanks to my esteemed co-panelists for their investment showcases. We at Bank Lviv are proud to be a specialized SME mid-cap bank in Ukraine, fully backed by reputable international financial institutions. Our shareholders include DFIs Switzerland, Iceland, Nordic countries, and recently the Netherlands. We continue to grow in Kyiv and 10 regions to the west, with ambitious plans for significant scaling and expansion. Recent investment attraction from the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) is a flagship foreign direct investment deal in the banking sector during the war, showcasing our resilience and commitment. DGGF, managed by Triple Jump and PwC, is an SME impact-driven public fund with a mandate to support Ukrainian entrepreneurs and vulnerable communities. Bank Lviv's profile perfectly aligns with DGGF's impact goals, leveraging investments on the ground and sharing values such as green banking, impact finance, and ESG. This will result in 2 billion hryvnias of new investment loans for MSMEs in various sectors, driving financial inclusion and development. Our investment case will attract more primary FDI equity and extend partnerships with international organizations. We are working with EBRD, DFC, EFSE, GGF, KFW and others to provide unfunded portfolio guarantees, risk-sharing, long-term funding, and technical assistance. We are very excited by Ukraine’s government dedication to attracting FDIs, and when combined with such promising projects as the ones implemented by Bank Lviv, our country is poised to recover swiftly. To conclude, real deals and projects are happening despite the war. The Ukrainian private sector is striving, not waiting for the war to end. The Bank Lviv’s team keeps working relentlessly to design more projects as a testament to the potential of Ukraine's economy. #UkraineInvestment #BankLviv #SME #ImpactInvesting #DevelopmentFinance

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EBRD and Uzbekistan aim to finalize Asakabank privatisation in May 2024 🗓 In addition to the Asakabank agreement, plans are underway to approve a new large privatisation programme shortly. Efforts are being intensified to expedite the sale of stakes in two major state-owned banks, aiming to achieve a 60%divestment by the end of 2025. 👉Details: https://lnkd.in/deF7Prxi #EBRD #Uzbekistan #Asakabank #privatisation #economicreform #investment #financialsector #privatisationprogramme #DaryoNews

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Uzbekistan's Economic Dynamo: CER Spotlights Top Regions! March showcased Uzbekistan's bustling economic scene, with tax revenues surging by 6.5% and customs receipts by 20.3%. Surkhandarya and Ferghana led the tax charge, while Jizzakh and Kashkadarya dominated customs growth. Exports saw a 5.8% uptick, led by Navoi and Kashkadarya, while loan issuance spiked by 0.2%, notably in Navoi and Tashkent. The commodity exchange buzzed with a 50.1% surge in transactions, driven by Jizzakh and Syrdarya. Meanwhile, Tashkent emerged as the entrepreneurial hub, with over 4,000 new enterprises. A vibrant business landscape is evident across Uzbekistan, promising growth and opportunity. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dGBhdjUB

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The UK has embarked on a quest to establish a new political framework aimed at enhancing its relations with Central Asia and countering regional rivals. In response to the Russia-Ukraine War and China’s expanding influence in the region, the UK has initiated a high-level strategy to redefine its approach to Central Asia. Nevertheless, there are concerns about the scale and scope of this effort. Even UK authorities are uncertain whether the current regional policies have the capacity to meet these new challenges. https://bit.ly/3KiOuwp

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