Uzbekistan: time to celebrate?
Following a dramatic rise in construction activity, the Uzbek cement industry has seen local sales surge. To meet this increasing demand, existing producers are expanding their production facilities and the booming market has attracted a flood of interest from Chinese investors. By Annexure Financial Solutions, China.
Uzbekistan is carrying out bold economic reforms that have resulted in a strong growth
in investment and an increase in consumption, underpinning rising cement demand
Uzbekistan has been carrying out bold market-oriented economic reforms. In September 2018 the country unified the exchange rate, liberalised the foreign exchange market, and adopted price and trade liberalisation. Since January 2019 the government has also made substantial cuts to tax rates for both firms and individuals. Strong growth in investment and an increase in consumption boosted real GDP growth from 4.5 per cent in 2017 to 5.1 per cent in 2018, and further to 5.3 per cent YoY in the 1Q19. The World Bank forecasts real GDP growth at 5.3 per cent in 2019, accelerating to 5.5 per cent in 2020 and six per cent in 2021.
