Uzbekistan’s second largest bank, Uzpromstroybank, also known as SQB (Sanoatqurilishbank), has signed loan agreements for a total of 160.7 million euros with major German banks.

Azerbaijan held grandiose celebrations to mark victory in a brief war to de-occupy territory held for 30 years by Armenia, but a formal peace eludes negotiators and violent incidents still punctuate the region.

Uzbekistan plans to sell 32 large state-owned enterprises and assets and transfer more than 300 small assets to private hands next year and expects that the state budget will receive $936 million.