**Kyrgyzstan****: CHUI OBLAST OVERVIEW**

 

December 1999

 

Written by: Irina Mukambaeva, BISNISRepresentative in Bishkek

 

The Chuioblast is located in the northern part of the Kyrgyz Republic, bordering onKazakhstan, and has a population of about 765,000. The region, the mosteconomically developed part of Kyrgyzstan, occupies a favorable geographicposition and has an extensive communications network and highly developedindustry. It is also a very important transport hub of Kyrgyzstan because theoblast’s center is Bishkek, the country’s capital city, and contains majorrailway and highway main lines and the Manas international airport. In December1999, renovation and upgrading of the Bishkek airport—including modernizationof the landing strip, navigation equipment, the airport terminal and otherfacilities—will be completed. German construction company Hochtief is thegeneral contractor for the renovations and U.S. consulting company firmCH2MHill is the project manager; the bulk of the funding came from the JapaneseGovernment. 

 

The agricultural share in the GDP of the Chui oblastis 64.2 percent, and the industrial share—35.8 percent. Grain, sugar beet,vegetables, potatoes, milk and meat are the main agricultural products producedin the Chui oblast. The main industries are food processing, light andconstruction material industries, nonferrous metallurgy, and industrialengineering (machine-building). Major enterprises in the oblast include: theKara-Balta mining complex (nonferrous metals), the Kant cement and slatecomplex (67 percent of which was recently purchased by a Luxembourg companythrough a privatization tender), the Bakai company (sugar and ethylenespirits), the Ainek company (glass sheet), the Molybdenum company, the Kitlapcompany (noodles), the Kyrgyz Chemical-metallurgical Plant (rare-earth metals),Kasiet company (wool processing), and the Tokmak canning plant. 

 

Some industries of the oblast are represented by jointventures with foreign participation. For example, sugar and ethylene spirit areproduced jointly with English partners, noodle production with Chinesepartners, and gasoline and diesel fuel with U.S. partners. Currently, some ofthe U.S. companies operating in Kyrgyzstan are: Newmont (mining), Caterpillar(mining equipment and power generators), GlobalOne, Motorola (communications),Xerox, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble (consumer goods), Mayer, Brown andPlatt, Leboeuf, Lamb, Green & Macrae, and Baker & McKenzie (law firms).

 

The Bishkek Free Economic Zone (FEZ) is also locatedin the Chui valley, near Bishkek. Having attracted foreign investment worth$4.1 million, the FEZ is a home for 416 companies: 325 enterprises with foreigninvestment, 152 foreign and 29 local enterprises. Themost prominent investments in Bishkek the FEZ are: the Plaskap-Bishkek Plant(Turkish plastic bottle and cap maker, foreign direct investment—$18 million), Corona Ltd (Kyrgyz-Russian JV, production andbottling drinking water), Volare (U.S. apparel company), Eridan-FEZ(Kyrgyz-Russian-Irish JV, metallic-plastic windows and doors, FDI—$ 0.3 million), and Full-Mobile (Kyrgyz-Italian JV,furniture production, FDI—$0.3million). The major benefits for a company registered in the FEZ includeexemption from several kinds of taxes and duties and exception/release fromquotas and licensing for the export of goods manufactured in the FEZ.

 

The Chui oblast has trade ties with 49 countries andits balance of trade is positive. The major exports are nonferrous andrare-earth metals, construction materials, yarn, and agricultural products. Themain export markets are Germany, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, France, and Russia.The major imports are petroleum products, coal, and food products. 

 

The most promising investment opportunities for U.S.companies are in the extraction of gold and rare-earth metals, nonferrousmetallurgy, hydropower, agriculture, food processing industry, tourism, andelectronics. 

 

**Contact Information**

 

Chui OblastAdministration 

Department onInternational Cooperation, Trade and Entrepreneurship 

Mr. Torogul Bekov, Department Head

205, Abdimomunov Str., Bishkek 720003, Kyrgyzstan

Tel: +996 (312) 22 35 75, 22 39 75, fax: +996(312) 2254 93

 

Bishkek Free Economic Zone

Mr. Emil Ibraimov, Director General 

28, Manas Str, Bishkek 720026,Kyrgyzstan

Tel: +996 (312) 2I 17 22, fax: +996(312) 62 01 13   

 

U.S. Embassy – Bishkek 

BISNIS Representative

171, Prospect Mira, Bishkek 720016, Kyrgyzstan

Tel: +996(312) 55 12 41, fax: +996(312) 55 12 64

Email: [email protected]