OREANDA-NEWS. December 22, 2008. The government of Uzbekistan will allocate US12 million to support small businesses by financing investment projects in 2009.

The Uzbek Reconstruction and Development Fund, in the beginning of 2009, will open credit lines worth US12 million in total for four Uzbek banks.

About US3 million will be allocated to each to the National Bank of Uzbekistan for Foreign Economic Activity, the Asaka Bank, Uzpromstroybank and Pakhta Bank. The banks will allocate credits on reduced interest rate that does not exceed 5% a year.

The funds are aimed at allocating loans to investment projects on buying modern technologies and equipment from foreign countries with the aim of producing goods that will substitute imported ones and will also be exported.

The decision was adopted line with the state programme on supporting real sector of the economy.