l Privatisation and Enterprise Adjustment Credit to support the government s programme to demonopolise agro-conglomerates, develop land markets, and eliminate remaining trade and price distortions.Bill Dann (Russia) plans to invest US $ 5 million in the development of milk and juice production in Kyrgyzstan. The company, which has dairy plants across Russia, already holds 42 per cent of shares in the Bishkeksut dairy plant and is aiming for a controlling stake. Coca-Cola, the world s largest soft drinks producer, opened a plant in 1997 with a capacity of 24,000 glass bottles and 7,000 plastic bottles per hour. The total investment was around US $ 20 million. Additional investment of around US $ 15 million was made in 1998. Coca-Cola s investment comes 5 per cent from its US-based parent, 90 per cent from a Turkish affiliate and 5 per cent from the Kyrgyz side.state-owned enterprises in the wool, silk and cotton industries will be privatised under the large-scale enterprise rivatisation programme. The wool, cotton and silk industries are dominated by a number of large enterprises located in the industrial centres. The most important production sites are Bishkek (woollen yarn and fabrics), Osh (cotton fabric and silk), and Tokmok (wool scouring and yarn manufacture). Camco Corporation (UK), which owns a controlling stake in the Kasiet Spinning factory, aims to increase production to 3,500 tonnes a year, and also aims to diversify its activities in the country. Henrich Glaiser Textile Company (Germany) has built a cotton oil plant in the south, with a processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes of seeds per year. The company started its operations in Kyrgyzstan in 1998, since when it has invested about US $ 15 million. (Investment Profile, Business Forum, Major sectors of the economy, London, 2001). processing is an attractive area for foreign investors. A German-Kyrgyz joint venture, Reemtsma-Kyrgyzstan, is manufacturing cigarettes to meet the country s annual cigarette demand, estimated at 7 billion. After the acquisition of Kyrgyzstan s only cigarette production plant in 1998, Reemtsma started building a new factory, which is scheduled for production start up in 2001. As a result, sales have more than doubled compared to 1998, and Reemtsma has gained the market lead with a share of about 35 per cent. s best known foreign investment project is the US $ 450 million development of the Kumtor gold mine, one of the largest in the world. Kyrgyzstan has important gold reserves and is the tenth largest producer and seller of gold in the world. Kumtor, the biggest gold mine, extracts about 18 tonnes of gold annually. During January-August 2000, it produced 12.9 tonnes of gold, up 6.6 per cent year-on-year. Apart from Kumtor, Kyrgyzstan has 65 other areas of potential prospecting interest to gold mines. Gold is just one of various opportunities beckoning foreign investment to the country. Cameco Gold (Canada) holds 30 per cent in the venture, and state-owned Kyrgyzaltyn 70 per cent. Financial support has been provided by a bank syndicate consisting of Chase Manhattan as the lead manager, the EBRD and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The EBRD has advanced a US $ 30 million senior loan and a US $ 10 million subordinated loan to the Kumtor Gold Company for the development of Kumtor gold deposit, located in the Issyk-Kul region.industries also include hydroelectric power. Potential reserves total estimated 170 billion K...
