TASHKENT (Trend News Agency, D. Azizov) – Uzbekistan drew US $2.9 billion of foreign investments to the real economy in 2011. About 78.8% fall to foreign direct investments, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Thursday.

Uzbekistan mastered more than $10.8 billion capital investment in 2011 from all sources of financing or 11.2% more than in 2010, Karimov said. The president stressed that the investment share in GDP was 23.9%. This indicates about a high activity of the investment process in the country.

According to the president, the positive qualitative changes occur in the structure of financing the sources and directions of using capital investment. “Over 73% of all investments is formed due to domestic sources – own funds of enterprises and the population, commercial bank loans, which are more involved in the investment processes, as well as the state budget and extra budgetary funds,” he said.

Karimov emphasized that more than 73.5% of total investment are used for industrial construction. About 45.3% of investments concern the purchase of modern high-productive equipment.

A foreign investor is entitled to engage in investment activity in Uzbekistan by means of:

• Equity participation in companies, banks, trusts, cartels, associations, and other enterprises established together with Uzbek resident legal entities and individuals;
• Establishment of an enterprise wholly owned by a foreign investor;
• Portfolio participation through the acquisition of bonds, shares and share certificates, and other securities issued by Uzbek companies or the Government;
• Total or partial acquisition of tenure rights, rights to immovable property (including land use rights), concession rights effecting the use of subsoil resources, etc.;
• Other forms of investment which do not conflict with Uzbek legislation.