Jizzakh Special Industrial Zone: Unique Investment Opportunities for Chinese Companies. A forum under this title opened July 3 at Tashkent’s International Business Center.



The event is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Uzinfoinvest agency in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. It is attended by representatives of ministries and government agencies, as well as companies and corporations of the two countries specializing in trade, investments, healthcare, energy sector, hydrocarbon industry, information technologies and telecommunications, automotive, food, textile and construction industries, transport and transport communications, electrical engineering, leather and metalworking.

At the forum, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade E.Ganiev, Minister of Economy G.Saidova, Chairman of the Commerce and Industry Chamber A.Shaykhov and other speakers stressed in particular that the “Uzbek Model” of development worked out by President Islam Karimov designed to spearhead wide-ranging structural reforms has been drawing immense interest around the world. They also underscored that as a result of economic transformation in progress, an encouraging business environment has been formed in our country, along with a system of extensive privileges, preferences and guarantees of protection of rights and interests of foreign investors has been created. The presidential decree on additional measures to stimulate the attraction of foreign direct investments signed 10 April 2012 has served as an important factor in boosting the efforts on this front up to a qualitatively new level. More than three billion dollars, largely of foreign direct investments, are drawn in our country every year. This is indicative of the mounting interest and confidence of foreign investors in Uzbekistan’s economy and its development prospects.

The Navoi Free Industrial and Economic Zone and the Angren Special Industrial Zone are instrumental in the implementation of high-technological projects in our country with the participation of foreign capital. In accordance with the Decree of the head of our state on the establishment of Jizzakh Special Industrial Zone signed 18 March 2013, another manufacturing hub has been founded in the region. It is aimed at an integrated and effective employment of the industrial and resource potential of Jizzakh and Sirdarya regions, and hence the creation of new jobs and elevation of population incomes. Major objectives sought from the activity of this special industrial zone created in our country in accordance with the memorandum of understanding on the execution of project to set up an Uzbek-Chinese industrial park, include those directed at instituting favorable conditions for the attraction of foreign and local investments to create modern hi-tech manufacturing units who would secure the production of competitive goods with higher added value.

On the first day of the forum, the Chinese guests were presented detailed information on opportunities and benefits offered in the Jizzakh Special Industrial Zone.

“China is interested in developing cooperation with Uzbekistan,” says Zheng Chaoyang, deputy mayor of the city of Wenzhou in the Chinese province of Zhejiang. “All necessary conditions, tremendous opportunities and privileges are created in Uzbekistan for a free and successful activity of foreign investors. These extensive prospects will facilitate further consolidation of trade-economic and investment cooperation, and enhancement of volumes of bilateral trade turnover between our two countries.”

The forum is attended by about three hundred businesspeople from leading firms and companies of China – suggestive of their high interest in the realization of joint schemes with Uzbek entrepreneurs in the Jizzakh Special Industrial Zone, in investing and further expansion of longer-term and enthusiastic interaction with Uzbekistan. Sino-Uzbek investment forums took place in April this year in China’s four cities: Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shenyang. As a result of those meetings, 54 documents were signed on the joint implementation of higher-technological investment projects in the Jizzakh Special Industrial Zone totaling 300 million US dollars in the sphere of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, pharmaceutical, textile and food industries, production of cutting-edge construction materials and goods from polymers.

“Our company has been actively cooperating since 2002 with partners from Uzbekistan,” says China’s Holley corporation representative Gang Xiao. “In Uzbekistan, we have established production of electrical equipment. The wide-ranging opportunities and preferences created in Uzbekistan for foreign investors and the appealing investment climate serve as a crucial factor also for us for the further development of mutual cooperation with Uzbek partners. All this is a manifestation of enormous consideration and care of the head of your country for foreign investors.”

The forum participants exchanged views on issues related to prospective directions of further development of economic and investment cooperation between Uzbekistan and China. Also discussed were the issues pertinent to the enlargement of ties in such areas as hydrocarbon, chemical, food and textile industries, manufacturing construction materials and medical equipment, automotive industry, electrical engineering, pharmaceuticals, as well as joint elaboration and realization of mutually advantageous investment schemes in these sectors.

The event contributors traveled to the branch of Jizzakh Special Industrial Zone in Sirdarya region and reviewed the production capacities of the region, along with the conditions created here for businesspeople. They took part in the opening ceremony of an enterprise to manufacture mobile phones at the Peng-Sheng JV Ltd in Sirdarya district.

The forum produced 21 agreements for the total sum exceeding 100 million US dollars and designed to implement joint investment projects in the Jizzakh Special Industrial Zone in areas like energy, electronic equipment, telecommunications, textile and machine building sectors and pharmaceuticals.

First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan R.Azimov delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the forum. (Source: Uzbekistan National Agency “UzA”)