THE TWO-DAY annual meeting of the European Bank
for Reconstruction & Development is taking place in
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in May - the first time the bank has met
in central Asia. From May 4-5, some 2000 delegates will travel
to the Hotel-Intercontinental in downtown Tashkent, bringing
the eyes and - so the EBRD hopes - the wallets of the global
financial community to focus on this central country of the
CIS region.
Uzbekistan could certainly do with a lift. Foreign direct
investment flows are at the moment the lowest of all the transition
economies on a per capita basis. In the past four years, GDP per
capita dropped from $400 to $300. Wages, in the same period, have
fallen 50%, and inflation has obstinately failed to decline from
its 30% level.
Although there are some signs of positive growth in the private
sector, generally, the economy is still state-controlled, corrupt
and inefficient. Although many banks,...
