Ministry of Labour and Social Protection reorganized into Ministry of Labour 1
Tashkent hosts international conference dedicated to adoption of Corporate Governance Code. 1
“E-xarid” turnover reaches 41.6 billion soums. 2
Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of republic of Uzbekistan.. 2
Deputies approve Accounting Chamber report for 2015. 2
Sabina Sharipova is the Winner of the International Tournament 5
POLItiCs
Ministry of Labour and Social Protection reorganized into Ministry of Labour
Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population of Uzbekistan has been reorganized into the Ministry of Labour.
President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov approved the decision with his resolution “On measures on further improving system of social support and medial-social aid to vulnerable layers of population” from 22 February 2016.
According to the resolution, Ministry of Healthcare of Uzbekistan became a responsible body for rendering medical-social aid to people with disabilities, including children, war veterans, elder people, as well as organizing inclusive professional education.
Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan will carry out monitoring of appointment and payment of social payments and material aid to needy families and citizens.
Ministry of Labour will conduct analysis of employment level, coordinate development and monitoring of employment programme. Ministry will also be responsible for employment, professional training and re-training of unemployed population.
(Source: UzDaily.com)
Business
Tashkent hosts international conference dedicated to adoption of Corporate Governance Code
On February 23 Scientific and Educational Center of Corporate Governance hosted an international conference dedicated to the adoption of the Corporate Governance Code. The event was organized by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the State Committee on privatization, de-monopolization and development of competition, as well as scientific and educational centers of corporate governance.
More than 100 representatives of various international organizations, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European School of Management and Technology, discussed the current trends to improve corporate governance both in our country and abroad. In addition, special attention was paid to the key provisions of the Corporate Governance Code, in particular, measures aimed at balancing the interests of governments, shareholders and the Labor Code of the joint-stock company.
The program of the international conference consisted of two parts. The results of the joint work of Uzbekistan with various international organizations in the field of improving corporate governance were presented in the first one. Thus, representatives of the World Bank Group said that the adoption of Corporate Governance Code became an important step in our country towards the creation of favorable conditions for attracting foreign direct investment.
We highly appreciate the joint work that has been carried out by the Government of Uzbekistan in cooperation with the World Bank Group in the development and adoption of the Code. We are also pleased to note that the key comments of the World Bank based primarily on international principles of corporate governance have been included in the final version of the document, said the representative of the World Bank Group in Uzbekistan, Nina Kolybashkina.
It was also noted that the Decree of the Head of our state “On measures for the introduction of modern methods of corporate governance in joint stock companies” was adopted within the framework of the reform program, structural reforms and diversification of the economy for 2015-2019. It defines the main directions to improve corporate governance and enhance the protection of shareholders’ rights. The representatives of the European School of Management and Technology and the Ministry of Finance of the Federal Republic of Germany made a speech during the plenary session. International experts have praised the work on radical change in the principles and approaches to corporate governance, introduction of advanced international standards of corporate management to production, foreign economic and investment processes, and formation of new corporate entities instead of outdated management practices.
Workshop on the key provisions of the Corporate Governance Code for joint stock companies of Uzbekistan continued the plenary session of the international conference.
By the end of the International Conference participants expressed the view that the developed code summarizes the best international corporate governance practices adapted for use in Joint-Stock Companies of the Republic.
(Source: UzReport.uz)
TECHNOLOGIES
“E-xarid” turnover reaches 41.6 billion soums
Over one and a half months of the current year, goods (works, services) totaling 41.6 billion soums were sold through the electronic system of corporate procurement of the Uzbek Republican Commodity Exchange. This figure exceeds the same period of 2015 by 15%. Financial savings of customers due to the reduction of the starting price increased by 25% and amounted to 9.9 billion soums. (currency rates of CB RU from 25.02.2016, 1$= 2851.65 soums)
Positive dynamics in the system of “E-xarid” has happened due to the increased activity of suppliers, which also contributed to the increase of electronic corporate orders by 5%. Hereby, the number of small businesses involved in electronic trading on corporate purchases increased by 8%.
In the period under review, the largest transactions were concluded on such goods as computer equipment, appliances and spare parts for motor vehicles whose joint share amounted to 29%. Thus, the specific weight of computer equipment, compared with last year increased by 3%.
In the structure of regions, more than half of the market accounted for the proportion of customers located in the city of Tashkent and Tashkent region. Thus, according to the results of the electronic auction, they entered into the contract in the amount of 22 billion soums, with growth compared to the previous year by 7%.
(Source: UzReport.uz)
Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of republic of Uzbekistan
Deputies approve Accounting Chamber report for 2015
On February 24 the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan hosted a session where deputies within their constitutional authority reviewed the report of the Accounting Chamber for 2015.
The Deputy Chairman of the Accounting Chamber K.Akmalov addressed the meeting.
Previously, factions of political parties and deputy groups, the Committee on Budget and Economic Reforms pre-considered this report. During the discussions, the deputies made a number of proposals aimed at strengthening cooperation between the Parliament and the Accounting Chamber on the implementation of parliamentary control and improvement of legislative activity, as well as active involvement of civil society institutions in the control and analytical activities.
On this basis, the Committee on Budget and Economic Reforms has prepared a conclusion on this report, as well as a draft resolution of the Legislative Chamber of the Accounting Chamber’s report for 2015 and presented them to the Legislative chamber.
It was noted during the hearing of the report that the activities of the Accounting Chamber in the reporting period has been organized on the basis of the priorities defined by the President, Islam Karimov at the session of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to results of socio-economic development in 2014 and important priorities of economic program for 2015.
The information presented at the meeting emphasized that in the work of the Accounting Chamber over the past year, special attention was paid to the effective implementation of the State budget, targeted use of financial resources, the study of execution of national and regional development programs designed to ensure the dynamic development of all sectors of the economy. In addition, an examination of the main directions of tax and budget policy and the draft state budget for 2015 has been carried out. The completeness of formation of political parties’ incomes and their intended use was verified pursuant to the Law “On financing of political parties”.
At an example of institutions financed from the budget, the execution of the State budget, legal, targeted and effective expenditure of public funds was checked at the national and local levels.
After the thorough discussion of the report of the Accounting Chamber for 2015 at the plenary session of the lower house of parliament, representatives of all factions of political parties and the deputy group of the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan made a speech.
Members of the faction of the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen – Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan noted that the Accounting Chamber in the reporting period completed control activities in 90 organizations in 30 directions. In this process, the effective execution of revenues and expenditures of the State budget, the state programs, realization of investment programs, the modernization and renewal of production has been studied carefully.
Thus, according to members of the faction in order to prevent financial violations it is necessary to strengthen cooperation between Parliament and the Accounting Chamber in strengthening parliamentary control, further improvement of the legal framework in this area, increase in the efficiency of law enforcement at places.
In turn, representatives of the Democratic Party of Uzbekistan “Milly Tiklanish” drew attention to the fact that there is a need to further improve inter-budgetary relations, increase the incomes of local budgets on the basis of the rational use of production and resource potential of the territories and strengthening the regional economy.
As deputies emphasized it is important to study comprehensively the shortcomings, violations of budgetary discipline. In this regard, it is necessary to strengthen the parliamentary control through the establishment of regular hearings of reports of heads of relevant ministries, agencies and local khokimiyats on the measures taken to eliminate shortcomings in the area and determine their causes.
Speakers of the faction of People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan stressed that the Accounting Chamber in the reporting period analyzed expenditures of the State budget, the reasonableness of the costs on target complex programs for development of the social sphere. The Accounting Chamber paid special attention to the effectiveness of the system of targeted social protection of disadvantaged layers of the population as well as to improve the system of financial assistance and social benefits to poor families. Moreover, the drawbacks and problems have been identified. In particular, a number of challenges and untapped reserves of the State Fund for Employment, the appointment of benefits to families in need of social protection was identified.
Accordingly, the faction members suggested that the Accounting Chamber in the implementation of control measures should pay particular attention to taking the necessary measures to improve law enforcement in the State budget execution.
According to members of the faction of the Social Democratic Party “Adolat”, the Accounting Chamber should strengthen the control over the financial condition of economic entities of the agro-industrial complex which will contribute to further improvement of the legislation in this area. It was noted that it is also important to develop additional measures to conduct in-depth analysis and evaluation to further enhance the purchasing power of the population.
Representatives of the deputy group of the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan analyzed the activity of the Accounting Chamber to identify cases of financial violations in the field of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources, their causes and measures to eliminate them. Emphasis was placed on the importance of continuing work on the elimination of the causes of crimes, strengthening control measures, improvement of the legislation in this area.
Taking into account views expressed during the discussion, the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis approved the report of the Accounting Chamber of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2015 and adopted a relevant resolution.
(Source: UzReport.uz)
International cooperation
In the next five years, Uzbekistan Airways intends to significantly increase the volume of services for foreign aircrafts
Recently launched in conjunction with the Boeing Corporation, the Center for Repair and Maintenance of Aircraft Composite Components is expected to become a key factor in this process.
Uzbekistan Airways Technics is Central Asia’s only and most advanced aircraft service center. There is no repair facility of this level in the region within 5,000 kilometers. That is why the airlines of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and China rank among the major and potential customers. Moreover, Iran might become a huge market for Uzbekistan, as it has announced a large-scale program of procurement of modern aircrafts.
With over 90 years on the aircraft repair and maintenance market, the enterprise never lacked experience. Over the years, it has overhauled more than 80,000 aircrafts. No foreign company claimed complaints during independence. About 20 planes are annually provided repairs and maintenance services in Tashkent. Half of them are owned by foreign carriers.
It is important that Boeing intends to promote services of the Uzbek enterprise. As the Boeing Regional Sales Director for Central Asia and Europe, Serdar Gurz, noted in an interview with an Uzbekistan Today reporter, they have already mapped out specific plans in this direction.
According to him, the airlines reinforce their fleet with new Boeing-787 Dreamliner, more than 50% of which consist of composite materials. This is a huge market where the Uzbek Center might play a significant role as the only center in the post-Soviet space, which is certified by all FAA and EASA standards and requirements for the repairs of Boeing 757, 767 and 787 aircraft.
Meanwhile, composite materials are used not only in Dreamliners. Today, they are used in almost all modern aircrafts. This suggests that Uzbekistan Airways Technics will not be limited to repairs of solely aircrafts by the American corporation.
The economic viability of repair is the only problem in terms of capacity utilization, because in the conditions of the current global economic crisis no airline will fly empty to Tashkent for repairs. Normally, air carriers try to adjust their schedules and bring passengers, and then undergo maintenance services. So far, the company will work with a big list of those who fly in Uzbekistan. Later, when the situation changes, the portfolio of orders may increase substantially.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
sport
Sabina Sharipova is the Winner of the International Tournament
Tennis player of Uzbekistan Sabina Sharipova won the main award at the Women’s Tournament, organized by the International Tennis Federation in Delhi, India.
In singles competition, Sabina won the representative of the host country Sowjanya Bavisetti with a score of 6: 2, 6: 3, Veronika Kudermetova from Russia with a score of 6: 3, 6: 0, the tennis player from Chinese Taipei Ya-Hsuan Lee with 6: 3, 6: 3, Indian Ankita Raina with a score of 6: 3, 6: 4 and advanced to the finals.
In the final, Sabina Sharipova, by beating Nina Stojanovic with a score of 3: 6, 6: 2, 6: 4, won the main prize and 50 ranking points of the Women’s Tennis Association.
(Source: UzA)
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