Managing partner of Luxembourg IFG has been appointed deputy director of NMMC and entered the supervisory board of the company; “Uzmetkombinat”, AMMC, NMMC to be put up for IPO and SPO; NNMC will stop being a state enterprise; Separate uranium mining and processing company is being created; Extraction and processing of precious metals in Uzbekistan will now be implemented by a new enterprise; Fives Stein company to create facilities for the production of architectural and automotive glass in the Jizzakh region;
Managing partner of Luxembourg IFG has been appointed deputy director of NMMC and entered the supervisory board of the company
Olga Ponkratova, managing partner of Luxembourg IFG, will assist in restructuring of the Navoi Mining-Metallurgical Combine.
As a managing partner of IFG Metals & Mining (Luxembourg), Olga has already collaborated with Uzbekistan when she has consulted on issues of attracting foreign investors and improving the investment climate, in particular, in the tungsten industry. Together with the State Committee for Geolog she developed the concept of a first tungsten cluster in Uzbekistan.
In October, IFG Capital signed an exclusive $300 million agreement to create a tungsten cluster in Uzbekistan. This is the largest foreign direct investment in the mining and metallurgical sector of the country. It is expected that it will help revive the tungsten industry of Uzbekistan and bring it to the leaders in the region.
“Uzmetkombinat”, AMMC, NMMC to be put up for IPO and SPO
The “Uzbek Metallurgical Combine”, the Almalyk Mining-Metallurgical Complex (AMMC) and the Navoi Mining-Metallurgical Combine (NMMC) will be put up for IPO and SPO. This is envisaged in the Presidential decree.
This is being done to create additional conditions for attracting investment in modernization of production and increasing the competitiveness of enterprises in the mining-metallurgical industry.
Republican commission involving international financial institutions and consulting organizations is set up to reform the mining-metallurgical industry. It should develop a Concept for reforming and developing the industry by July 1. This concept will imply attraction of investors solely through primary (IPO) and secondary (SPO) public offerings on local and international stock markets.
NMMC will stop being a state enterprise
All reorganization work must be completed by December 1. As a result NMMC will be converted from a state-owned enterprise into a joint-stock company (JSC).
By the same date, the commission should make proposals on the transfer of the state share in the company to the trust management of professional management companies on a competitive basis.
In addition, NNMC and all other large industrial enterprises, from 2019 are required to prepare financial statements in accordance with international standards and conduct an independent audit with involvement of international auditing companies.
Separate uranium mining and processing company is being created
Uranium mining and processing in Uzbekistan will now be handled by a separate state-owned enterprise, which will be created as a result of the reorganization of the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine. This is approved by a Presidential decree.
According to the Financial Times, Uzbekistan is the seventh uranium producer in the world. In 2017, Uzbekistan sold the United States 2.15 million pounds of U3O8 uranium equivalent. This is the fifth figure among all US uranium imports.
FT adds that the presence of its own uranium opens up broad opportunities for Uzbekistan in the nuclear power industry, which is planned to be achieved through the construction of nuclear power plants.
Extraction and processing of precious metals in Uzbekistan will now be implemented by a new enterprise
The extraction and processing of precious metals in Uzbekistan will now be handled by a new enterprise, which will be created as a result of the reorganization of the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine. This is approved by a Presidential decree.
Precious metals are one of the key export items of Uzbekistan. In the first nine months of 2018, the country sold gold for $1.5 billion – this is the third figure after energy carriers and oil products ($2.3 billion), as well as services ($2.7 billion).
As for disclosure of total volume of reserves and mining of precious metals in the country, within a month, measures should be taken to remove the secrecy regime from the indicators of volumes of gold produced and sold according to the same Presidential decree.
Fives Stein company to create facilities for the production of architectural and automotive glass in the Jizzakh region
The French government has decided to allocate grant funds from the Fives Stein company in the amount of $575,000 to develop a feasibility study for the construction of a new plant in the Jizzakh region.
This became known following the talks, which were held in France between the delegation of Uzbekistan headed by the deputy khokim of the Jizzakh region Azim Akhmedkhadjayev and the French company representatives.
Within the framework of the project, it is planned to create facilities for the production of architectural and automotive glass in the Jizzakh region. The plant will be designed to produce 600 tons of glass per day and provide more than 200 jobs, with a total investment of more than $100 million.