Uzbekistan, Tashkent, April 24 /Trend D.Azizov/
Commercial banks of Uzbekistan will reserve loans amounting to 104.5 billion soum for purchase of home appliances of long-term use - washing machines, televisions, refrigerators and other domestic household appliances in accordance with a government resolution On additional measures to improve social and living conditions of families.
According to the document, the loan must not exceed 50 times of the minimum wage on the date of issue, it should be granted for up to three years at an interest rate not exceeding the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.
Currently, the size of the minimum wage in Uzbekistan is 62,920 soum, the refinancing rate set at 12 percent per annum.
Commercial banks are also encouraged to open specialized lines of credit to individuals and legal entities and to provide leasing services for the purchase of technological equipment for laundry services organization in the country.
The government also instructed commercial banks to adopt internal regulations governing the procedure for granting an overdraft on the accrual microprocessor plastic cards of individuals - employees of corporate clients of the bank (overdraft - short-term bank credit, which provided to a legal entity or individual entrepreneur in a cashless form in case of the shortage of funds for in the current account)
The relevant normative document will allow to issue an overdraft with a copy of the passport, certificate of pay and the guarantee of a corporate client for the obligations of its employees.
According to national experts, the decision taken by the government, will help to increase consumer demand for home appliances in the domestic market of Uzbekistan and, respectively, stimulates the local manufacturers in this segment.
According to the estimates of Uzeltehprom association, which consists of the companies for the production of home appliances in the country, at present the provision of 29-million population of Uzbekistan by household electrical engineering is as follows: Television - 132 units per 100 households, refrigerators - 99 units, air conditioners - 18.5, washing machines - 75 units, computers - 7.2, vacuum cleaners - 37 units.
Currently 90 percent of the demand for household electrical appliances is met through imports.
Uzeltehprom developed a program to attract investment amounted to $83.5 million in the production of household electrical appliances in 2011-2015. The program will increase the share of local home appliances production up to 25 percent by 2016.
Official exchange rate on April 24 is 1856.15 / $1