Business Activity Index in September: what is behind the third consecutive month of growth?

The following changes were observed in the BAI components

The Business Activity Index in September 2023 increased by 7.3% compared to the previous month and amounted to 1073 points, which is explained by changes in the following components:

• the number of transactions on bank accounts of business entities increased by 2.8%
• the component associated with operating business entities increased by 1.5%
• the intensity of the purchase of raw materials on the commodity exchange increased significantly by 13.8%
• the component of trademarks has increased by 17.3%

In the regional context, the Jizzakh region showed the highest growth

In September, the Business Activity Index for 11 regions increased compared to the previous month. In particular, Jizzakh (38.4%), Syrdarya (31.9%), Kashkadarya (21.6%), Namangan (16.1%), Tashkent (14.5%) and Bukhara (10.5%) regions experienced significant growth (Fig.2).

TRANSACTIONS WITH BANK ACCOUNTS

The number of interbank payment transactions in September amounted to 5,739,6 thousand and increased by 157.6 thousand transactions (an increase of 2.8%) compared to August 2023.

The number of banking operations in 3 regions has increased.

In September, the number of banking transactions between legal entities increased in 3 regions compared to the previous month. In particular, growth was observed in Fergana (18.4%) and Samarkand (1.0%) regions and in the city of Tashkent (6.1%).

At the same time, in 11 regions there was a decrease in the number of banking transactions between legal entities. A significant decrease was noted in Syrdarya (-24.2%), Tashkent (-17.9%), Andijan (-11.0%) and Bukhara (-10.0%) regions.

ACTIVITY ON THE COMMODITY EXCHANGE

In September, the exchange component of the BAI was 1.1376. This means an increase in the component level by 13.8% compared to the previous month. This growth is associated with an increase in the number of transactions by 1.6%. At the same time, the average physical volume of goods purchased in each transaction increased by 25.9%.

At the Republican Commodity Exchange, the total turnover in September amounted to 7,080.7 billion sums, which is 21.8% more than in the previous month.

ACTIVITY OF ECONOMIC ENTITIES

The component of operating business entities in September amounted to 1.0146, which means growth of the component by 1.5% compared to the level of the previous month. In addition, this indicator has a negative value compared to the same period last year with a significant decline of 12.4%.

The number of operating business entities in September increased by 8,252 units compared to August (505,351 units) and amounted to 513,603 units.

The number of large enterprises has increased significantly by 41 units.

During the reporting period, the number of small enterprises increased from 411,306 to 418,711 units, which is an increase of 7,405 units. In addition, there is also a decrease in the number of farms from 90,424 to 91,230 units, which is an increase of 806 units. The number of operating large enterprises amounted to 3,662 units, which is an increase of 41 units compared to August.

BRAND REGISTRATION

In September, the index of protected trademarks was 1,1734, which means an increase of 17.3% compared to the previous month. This month, 203 trademarks and trade names were registered by legal entities.

Ruslan Abdullaev, CERR