At the event, organized by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan jointly with the Asaka Bank, special attention was paid to tasks defined in the Anti-crisis program measures developed under the leadership of President Islam Karimov.

Until 1 April 2009, banks issued credits worth 7.89 trillion soums to the real sector for the purposes of increasing the capitalization and strengthening the financial stability of enterprises, introduction of new technologies and supporting innovative projects.

In particular, large companies have been allocated loans equaling to almost 55 billion soums, and small business and private entrepreneurs - nearly 45 billion soums.

In order to support exporters, the terms of their repayment of loans were revised for companies facing financial difficulties due to declining prices and demand for certain goods in the global market. As a result, credit and interest repayment dates for 20 enterprises were extended for 12 months.

Meeting the increasing demand for medium- and long-term loans, the banks are paying serious attention to lending to small businesses. In the first quarter of the year, 356.1 billion soums was allocated to small businesses for financing projects of organization and expansion of production activities. This is 71.8% more than in the same period of last year.