Dilnoza Rahimova — tafs uz coverage of economy. News, key facts and context in English, Uzbek and Russian.
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Five partners of the venture firm Benchmark spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt and discussed their approach to investing during the AI hype: two to three new investments per year per partner, Monday meetings with no agenda, the fund's growth to $2 billion, and their view on the risks of a correction, the Cerebras IPO, and the role of San Francisco.
Dilnoza RahimovaFrom October 12 to 18, key events in Uzbekistan: launches of facilities and start of new projects in New Tashkent, creation of an energy investors council, plans for a second nuclear power plant, proposals to raise heating and liquefied gas tariffs, an improved IMF forecast and changes to advertising legislation.
Dilnoza RahimovaEuronews explains which 2-euro coins are of collector interest: the 2007 Monaco coin featuring Grace Kelly is valued by experts at around 3,100 euros, minting errors can fetch up to 650 euros or more, while Greek coins with the letter 'S' are of no value.
Dilnoza RahimovaAt a press conference on 8 October, the leadership of 'Hududiy elektr tarmoqlari' reported on preparations for the autumn-winter season: 843 billion soums have been allocated for network repairs, and high-risk facilities have been divided into categories. Company head Sardor Isaqulov spoke about digitalization plans — consumers will be notified of scheduled outages via Telegram 1–2 days in advance. According to the company, in August 35% of consumers in Uzbekistan used more than 200 kWh.
Dilnoza RahimovaVietnam and four European countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, members of EFTA — signed a free trade agreement in Hanoi. The deal eliminates or reduces tariffs on industrial, fishery and agricultural goods. Negotiations began in 2012 and resumed last year after a pause since 2018. Experts link the agreement to the desire to diversify trade amid US tariffs.
Dilnoza RahimovaAccording to Ampere Analysis, about half of British sports fans use illegal ways to watch paid broadcasts, and among 18–34-year-olds it is more than 70%. In the summer of 2026 the first high-profile sentences were handed down: a streamer from Lancashire received six and a half years in prison. WPI Economics estimates that piracy costs the industry £700 million annually. A separate topic was the Champions League final, shown behind a paywall for the first time in 30 years: 3.7 million IP addresses watched it illegally.
Dilnoza RahimovaDeputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the first tanker with Russian oil has been loaded and dispatched from the Arctic port of Dixon. He also spoke about the deficit in the oil market, gas supplies to China, and the technical possibility of resuming supplies to Europe via Nord Stream.
Dilnoza RahimovaA draft government resolution submitted for public discussion provides for a 30% increase in heating and hot water tariffs from November 1, 2026, and, from May 1, 2028, annual indexation by inflation but no more than 10%. Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Khurshid Mustafayev explained this by a five-year freeze on tariffs in Tashkent and a fivefold gap between cost price and the price for the population.
Dilnoza RahimovaFrom November 1, tariffs for heat and hot water in Uzbek cities may rise; in Tashkent a 30% increase has been proposed. Deputy Minister of Construction Ozoza Juraeva stated that apartment buildings connected to central heating cannot be disconnected from the network and switched to individual gas boilers. Unauthorized alteration of in-building pipes is prohibited by government resolution No. 194 of July 5, 2014. Also, since December 1, 2022, new apartment buildings are not connected to gas — only to electricity supply.
Dilnoza RahimovaAt the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, economists and policymakers discussed AI's role in global growth. According to the IMF, AI investment cushioned the shock from rising energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East, but a slowdown in investment could reduce global GDP by 0.4% by 2028.
Dilnoza RahimovaIranian exports to Pakistan have been 'temporarily' halted due to sanctions against Iran's banking system, said Peyman Sanandaji, head of the transport commission of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce. Imports from Pakistan continue, and the land border remains open.
Dilnoza RahimovaBy a presidential decree, Saidqahxor Xolxujayev, who had headed Tashkent's Chilanzar district since August 2022, has been appointed First Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade. The post had remained vacant for more than a year. He previously served as First Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank and head of Uzagrosugurta.
Dilnoza RahimovaThe Visa Pay and Get Paid 2026 survey, supported by Ipak Yuli Bank, showed that small and medium businesses in Uzbekistan actively use digital payments, yet only 37% employ integrated solutions combining payments and business management. The main challenges are tax and regulatory burden, administrative work, and financial accounting.
Dilnoza RahimovaDanish jewellery company Pandora has opened a plant in Ho Chi Minh City that it calls the world's largest production complex for jewellery made of precious metals. The investment amounted to $150 million, capacity is up to 60 million items per year, and employment is 7,000 people. The plant will be Pandora's first production facility outside Thailand.
Dilnoza RahimovaAccording to UNCTAD, profits from the AI boom are concentrated in the high-tech stages of the supply chain. An analysis of the Nvidia GB200 NVL72 server system, worth about $3.3 million, showed that 68% of the tracked value added was profit, most of which went to Nvidia, while labor's share was only 14.2%. Raw material supplier countries receive a minimal share of the final value.
Dilnoza RahimovaGlobal Energy Monitor analysts note that over ten years Turkey has almost entirely abandoned new coal projects: of the 54.5 GW pipeline from 2014, only a few proposals remain. Wind and solar account for a third of installed capacity, and by 2035 the country plans to bring their combined capacity to 120 GW. According to the energy ministry's estimate, clean energy displaced fossil fuel imports worth $21.5 billion in 2015–2025.
Dilnoza RahimovaDuring the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, hundreds of protesters, including farmers and human rights organizations, demanded a revision of the funds' policies. Oxfam and activists called spending-cut demands misguided amid inflation, while the IMF insists on rebuilding fiscal buffers, and experts speak of 'two bad options' for developing countries.
Dilnoza RahimovaCanadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said that the American steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs could be forced to sell its Canadian assets if it cuts up to 500 employees at Stelco. Ottawa cites job-preservation commitments made when Stelco was purchased in 2024 under the Investment Canada Act. Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lorenzo Goncalves called the government's actions 'bullying' and attributed the layoffs to Trump administration tariffs.
Dilnoza Rahimova
