MAJOR UZBEK PLANT GOES INTO FULL FOREIGN OWNERSHIP.

Under an agreement signed last week with Uzbekistan, South Korea’s Daewoo conglomerate assumed 100 percent ownership of the Tashlak textile plant for $2.5 million. Daewoo has committed $60 million this year for the plant’s modernization. The plant’s entire output of 10,000 tons of cotton yarn will be for export. The agreement increases the country’s capacity for processing Uzbek cotton into competitive export products. (Delovaya Rossiia, April 19) While Soviet rule turned Uzbekistan into one of world leaders in cotton output, it ensured that most of that output was processed in Russia, preventing Uzbekistan from developing all but minimal processing capacities. Daewoo already has joint ventures with Uzbekistan to produce passenger cars, telephones, and video screens.

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