OREANDA-NEWS. February 08, 2011. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC, President: Masayuki Oku) signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for business cooperation with National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan ("NBU", Chairman: Rakhimov Saidahmat Borievich).

NBU was established at the time of the foundation of Uzbekistan in 1991 as a public financial institution. Its mission is to service foreign trade operations, to increase the export potential of the country and attract foreign investments.

NBU is the largest bank in Uzbekistan by asset and the aim of the business alliance is to strengthen business cooperation in trade finance, promotion of business opportunities for Uzbekistan and Japanese companies, project finance, environmental business such as reduction of greenhouse gases and collaboration in JPY clearing business.