representation
AND COMPANY MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN UZBEKISTAN
INVESTMENT GUIDE
During the years of Independence, Uzbekistan formed favorable investment environment, broad system of legal guarantees and privileges for foreign investors, developed integral system of measures on encouragement of activity of the enterprises with the foreign investments.
The investment legislation of Uzbekistan is one of advanced amongst legislations of the CIS countries, and it incorporated major provisions of the international investment law, in particular, regulations on guarantees of the rights of foreign investors, certain preferences for investors and others.
The following laws form the basis of investment environment in Uzbekistan:
· On Foreign Investments;
· On Investment Activities;
· On Guarantees and Measures of Protection of Rights of Foreign Investors.
In addition there is number of legislative normative acts issued in the form of Decrees of the President and/or Resolutions of the Government of Uzbekistan.
In accordance with current legislation the concept of foreign direct investment includes: ....
Foreign investments in the Republic of Uzbekistan enjoy the national treatment which provides foreign investors with conditions not less favorable, than corresponding conditions for investments, made by legal entities and natural persons of the Republic of Uzbekistan.The legislation, alongside with the general guarantees and measures of protection of foreign investors, may envisage additional guarantees and measures of protection, including providing unconditional performance by partners.In some cases on the basis of concluding investment agreement additional guarantees and measures of protection can be given to foreign investors at investment in:
-the priority sectors providing steady economic growth, progressive structural changes of a national economy;
-the priority projects providing strengthening and expansion of an export potential of the country, its integration into world economic relations;
-projects in sphere of small business oriented at processing of raw material and materials, production of consumer goods and services, providing population with employment.
In case the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan provides the foreign investor with additional guarantees and measures of protection (privileges and preferences), without fail, the investment agreement shall be concluded.
The investment agreement shall be concluded on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan between the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the foreign investor.....
FDI notification and registration In Uzbekistan an EPFC (Enterprises with Participation of Foreign Capital) can be established in any legal form that does not contradict Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In particular, they may be established in different forms of partnerships, limited/additional liability companies, open/closed joint-stock companies, subsidiaries, and unitary enterprises and in other forms that do not contradict Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Moreover, legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan fixes minimal amount of the charter capital for each form of legal entities. Thus, for:
- Open joint-stock companies and Closed joint-stock companies the minimal charter capital should make not less than the sum equivalent to USD 400,000 (calculated at the official Central Bank exchange rate on the date of the state registration)
- Limited or additional liability companies charter capital should be not less than 40 MMW fixed on the date of presenting of foundation documents to the state registration;
In addition, it should be noted that while establishing of an EFI it is necessary to meet requirements in respect to the minimal size of the charter capital (USD 150,000) and the share of foreign investment must comprise not less than 30% of the charter capital.
Besides, according to the current Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan legal entities are subject to the state registration with their subsequent inclusion in the unified state register of legal entities, and are considered to be established from the moment of carrying out this procedure....
INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT CORRIDORS
Active development of foreign economic relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan is largely dependent on solving the existing problems of development of foreign trade transportation, facing the whole of Central Asia. Moreover, academician Barthold said: «The Future of Turkestan depends on what position it will hold in world trade. Commercial value of Turkestan is entirely dependent on the development of railways, reducing the cost of land trade compared with the sea trade».
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the number of landlocked countries reached 29, and the Republic of Uzbekistan occupies a special position on this list as it is one of the two countries in the world separated from the ocean at least by the territories of two states (double landlocked).
At present, foreign trade goods of Uzbekistan are transported by following main transport corridors:
Corridor 1 – to the ports of the Baltic states (in transit through Kazakhstan and Russia) - Klaipeda (Lithuania), Riga, Liepaja, Ventspils (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia);
Corridor 2 - through Belarus and Ukraine (in transit via Kazakhstan and Russia) - border crossings Chop (Ukraine) and Brest (Belarus), followed by Europe;
Corridor 3 - to the Ukrainian port of Ilyichevsk (transit through Kazakhstan and Russia), exit to the Black Sea;
Corridor 4 - in the direction of Trans-Caucasian corridor (in transit through Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan), exit to the Black Sea, which is also known as the TRACECA corridor;
Corridor 5 - to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas (in transit through Turkmenistan) with access to the Persian Gulf;
Corridor 6 - in an easterly direction through the Kazakh-Chinese border crossing (Dostyk / Alalshankou) to the eastern ports of China and the Far Eastern port of Nakhodka, Vladivostok etc.;
Corridor 7 – to the Chinese ports (in transit through Kyrgyzstan) with the access to th Yellow, East China and South China Sea.
Corridor 8 – with resolving the Afghan problem opens up new perspectives for the development of south alternative transport corridors to Iranian and Pakistani ports of Bandar Abbas, Chahbahar (IRI), Gwadar and Karachi (PRI) through Afghanistan.
