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IMF gives another forecast for growth of Uzbekistan

12 November 2018 15:44 (UTC+04:00)
IMF gives another forecast for growth of Uzbekistan

By Trend

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted GDP growth in Uzbekistan in 2018-2019 at the level of 5 percent, and the country's prospects are more closely linked to economic reforms, Gazeta.uz quoted the Deputy Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department of the IMF Juha Kahkonen.

Kahkonen spoke t the presentation of the review entitled as the “Regional Economic Outlook: Caucasus and Central Asia”.

The growth in the Central Asia and Caucasus region in 2018–2019 is expected to amount to 4 percent, which is well below the average growth rate of 9 percent in the first decade of this century.

According to estimates of the IMF, the prospects for the country's economic growth are more dependent on the reforms being carried out than on the influence of external factors.

Kahkonen noted that the main challenge for Uzbekistan at the moment is the reform of state-owned enterprises and the corresponding price liberalization.

The Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, Ilkhom Norkulov, said that the government and the regulator expect GDP growth at the level of 5.2–5.3 percent according to the results of 2018, and around 5.4 percent – the next year. The rate of inflation is forecasted at 16–17 percent and 13–15 percent, respectively.

According to the data provided by the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, the inflation rate in the consumer market of Uzbekistan at the end of 2017 was 14.4 percent compared to 5.7 percent in 2016.

Its growth by 2.5 times is associated with the devaluation of the national currency sum and the liberalization of the country's foreign exchange market. The country's GDP grew by 5.5 percent according to the results of 2017.

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