Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Qishloq Qurilish Bank will be transformed into a Business Development Bank. This was announced today at a meeting with entrepreneurs by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

According to the President, the newly created bank will deal only with business development. The bank will provide cheap loans and help with the training of small businesses. The bank will become a business partner.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that the bank will accept new financing mechanisms and working methods.

The Bank will create small business centers in each of the 14 regions.

The centers will help entrepreneurs develop business projects, train people who want to start a new project at their own expense, attract the necessary specialists to new projects, provide accounting, tax, audit, marketing, legal and other business consulting services.

The bank will provide loans for a period of 5-7 years on favorable terms. Credit lines for US$150 million of these funds will be opened from 1 October.

Entrepreneurs who open their own business and have a clean "credit and tax history" will receive a 50 percent reduction in the collateral requirement for a loan.

It is expected that the centers will cover the cost of equipment insurance, certification of raw materials and materials imported under the project.

The President said that small companies participating in the program are not subject to verification for three years.

The President noted that the bank will raise US$500 million to finance business projects, and the state will allocate another US$500 million.