Uzbekistan invites Investments from Coimbatore !
UZBEKISTAN, one of the largest cotton producing countries and the second largest exporter of cotton fibre, has invited investments from textile entrepreneurs in Coimbatore and Tirupur. Uzbek minister for light industries, Mr Ruzikulov Rahmatull, said Uzbekistan had more than 70 textile companies with investments flowing in from Germany, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and India.“During the last three years, nearly 10 textile delegations from India and Uzbekistan had visited each other to consider improving textile business. The aim is to discuss specific proposals as there is a lot of enquiry from the Indian side to open up facilities there,” he said. Apart from the availability of cotton, the units could save on costs, as Uzbekistan offers tax incentives and has abundant raw material, including high-count cotton yarn and power, at low cost. Last month, a 16-member delegation from Tirupur visited Uzbekistan. “They saw a big potential to increase their manufacturing capacity,” he added.
The Uzbek government is looking at units that have experience in textiles and their own market. India’s textiles sector was one of the best world-wide, and there could be programmes for sharing of information and knowledge. The annual bilateral trade in cotton, textiles and silk is roughly $500 million.
