Memorandum of Cooperation signed with Singapore’s RV Healthcare Group; Differentiated rates of value added tax have been approved; Reconstruction of the hotel Radisson Blu was estimated at $ 40 million; Turkish “Yildirim Holding” becomes a potential investor in the modernization of Tashkent airport; Indian government allots $800,000 for financing Uzbekistan; Uzbekistan ranked 64 in the Paying Taxes 2019 rating; Indian companies receive information on Andijan’s investment potential.
Memorandum of Cooperation signed with Singapore’s RV Healthcare Group
December 21, Memorandum of cooperation with the Singapore company RV Healthcare Group was signed at the State Investment Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the participation of the First Deputy Chairman Sunatulla Bekenov.
On September 21 of this year, the first deputy chairman of the committee, Sunatulla Bekenov, met with representatives of the Singapore-based RV Healthcare Group in Khorezm. A presentation was made by foreign investors on a project to build a pharmaceutical plant, where it is planned to produce high-tech antiviral drugs (hepatitis B, C, and antiretroviral drugs), oral anti-cancer drugs, injections and biostimulants. The preliminary site for construction is the territory of the Parkent-Farm Free Economic Zone.
Also, representatives of the RV Healthcare Group made a proposal to build a training center in Tashkent to train staff for further work in the pharmaceutical industry.
Differentiated rates of value added tax have been approved
The Tax Code of Uzbekistan was supplemented by a new article 2264 “Differentiated VAT rates”, follows from the Law “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan in connection with the adoption of the main directions of tax and budget policy for 2019”.
This concerns those taxpayers who have switched to the simplified procedure for calculating and paying VAT.
VAT payers engaged in several types of activities for which different differential rates are established must keep separate accounts for these types of activities and pay VAT at the rates established for the respective categories of taxpayers.
Reconstruction of the hotel Radisson Blu was estimated at $ 40 million
As a potential investor, IP Aysel Invest from Turkey is indicated. A company with the same name was created in 2002 to manage the hotel, which was built in 2002-2003 by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers.
In addition to this hotel and the hotel Chorsu, the program of promising projects for 2019 included construction of:
- five-star hotel in Bostanlyk district (potential investor – Al Hidaya Global from Saudi Arabia, the estimated cost is $35 million);
- three- and four-star hotels in Tashkent (potential investor – Orion Group from India, estimated cost – $100 million);
- networks of hotel complexes in Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent (potential investor – S.C.S. PVT from India, estimated cost – $150 million);
- two three- and four-star hotels in Tashkent and Bukhara (potential investor – SRB Group from India, estimated cost – $10 million).
Turkish “Yildirim Holding” becomes a potential investor in the modernization of Tashkent airport
The project is scheduled to be worked out in 2019. The designed capacity and estimated costs are unknown yet as the project is at the stage of documentation development.
But it is known that the potential investor is a Turkish company “Yildirim Holding”. In July, the head of the “Yildirim Group” Robert Yuksel Yildirim said that his company was negotiating the “rehabilitation” of the Tashkent airport.
In addition, it is planned to build a new passenger terminal in Termez city with a capacity of 400 passengers per hour. The investor is yet to be determined, but the estimated cost is around $11 million.
Indian government allots $800,000 for financing Uzbekistan
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan hosted a meeting dedicated to the opening of Uzbekistan – India Entrepreneurship Development Center on December 24.
The primary objectives of establishing the Center are the followings:
– improving corporate governance in the country;
– encouraging participation of human capital in implementation of advanced international models and standards in this issue.
The Indian government has allotted over $800 thousand for financing the Center. It will promote the introduction of modern approaches and scientific achievements in retraining and advanced training of personnel in entrepreneurship. The Center will also develop recommendations for representatives of business circles, analyzing the results of research, supporting scientific developments serving to the effectiveness of activity of industrial and business entities.
Uzbekistan ranked 64 in the Paying Taxes 2019 rating
Uzbekistan took the 64th place in the Paying Taxes 2019 ranking, which is conducted by PwC in cooperation with the World Bank.
According to the study, the total tax rate of Uzbekistan is 32.1%, which represents the proportion of taxes in the company’s profits. Compared to other jurisdictions, the indicator is lower than the average for the countries of Central Asia and Eastern Europe (32.8%), and also significantly lower than the average for the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (40.2%).
In terms of the annual amount of time required to comply with tax laws, Uzbekistan’s indicator (181 hours) is inferior to OECD countries (162 hours), but it is ahead of most of the countries of Central Asia and Eastern Europe (the average for the region is 220 hours).
Indian companies receive information on Andijan’s investment potential
India hosted a business forum on “New opportunities for Indian business in Uzbekistan – India Free Pharmaceutical Zone in Andijan region” in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The Uzbek side informed about new investment opportunities created in Uzbekistan, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. Particular emphasis was placed on the investment potential of Andijan region.
Presentation of the favorable conditions created for doing business in the free pharmaceutical zone was held at the forum.