June 18, 2015 the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on privatization, de-monopolization and promote competition in cooperation with the Uzbek Republican Commodity Exchange held a press conference for the media on the topic: "Ensuring publicity in the organization and conduct of the Uzbek Republican Commodity Exchange e-procurement, the value of participation by small businesses and the prospects of the new trading platform".

The event was attended by experts State Competition Committee, Uzbek Commodity Exchange, representatives of business community and the media.

The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the media with the results of performance of the stock exchange for the implementation of public and corporate procurement, participation by small businesses, as well as measures taken to improve the transparency and efficiency.

As noted at the press conference, one of the most important strategic goals of further development of Uzbek Commodity Exchange is to improve the exchange activities by entering new areas, including - e-procurement system. This system includes the trading platforms on state (D-xarid) and corporate (E-xarid) procurement, which developed and introduced on the stock exchange according to Resolutions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the optimization of the public procurement system and expanding it to bring to small businesses" from 07.02.2011 number: PR-1475 and "On the optimization of e-procurement system and expanding access to business entities" from 05.04.2013 number: PR-1948. The mechanism of trades on e-procurement, in its turn is regulated by the regulations approved by the Cabinet of Ministers "On additional measures to improve the process of government and corporate procurement" from 11.06.2013 number: 166.

Electronic Procurement in Uzbekistan carried out in the form of electronic auction of a fall in prices, and starting in the recent years show high growth rates. In 2014 the total volume of e-procurement has reached 821.0 billion soums. The volume of public procurement in comparison with 2013 grew by 13% and amounted to 470.6 billion soums, and the turnover of corporate procurement, despite the short period of operation, has exceeded 350.0 billion soums. In electronic trading of government and corporate procurement receives an average 6 counteroffers per application, while the original one had to apply for 2 offers. An important role in achieving these results belongs to small and private businesses, which are increasingly taking part in electronic trading of government and corporate procurement. Last year, their share in the supply of goods (works, services) for public procurement accounted for more than 99% of the transactions took place and the total amount of transactions. The similar indicator for corporate purchases exceeded 96%.

Transparency of the trading system in the first place, is provided by a special information exchange portal, which is an information resource for e-procurement, and also serves as a multifunctional trading platform. The absence of the human factor in determining the winner of electronic trading is essential for conducting electronic procurement. At the same time, constantly expanding scale and capacity of procurement that promotes the development of the market a healthy competitive environment.

The comparative advantages of the system is also positively reflected in the procurement budget organizations, entities of natural monopolies, state unitary enterprises and economic entities with the state share in the authorized capital of more than 50 percent. Thus, the budget savings in the past year amounted to 117.4 billion soums, against 83.0 billion in 2013. Financial savings by reducing starting price in an auction for corporate purchases reached 64.1 billion soums.

However, in order to increase efficiency, e-procurement system is constantly being improved. The main innovation of the year in the e-procurement system was the introduction of June 1 the new trading system - "Electronic Catalog» (catalog.uzex.uz), whose goal is to accelerate and simplify public procurement procedures, as well as greater involvement of businesses to them.

Regulations on the organization of public procurement of goods (works, services) have the essentials of business entities by means of electronic trading through a special information portal UZEX approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on March 26, 2015 number: 69. According to this document, the list of goods (works, services) needs to be approved first by the Government Commission on Public Procurement.

Electronic Catalogue formed a special information portal of the exchange offers providers addressed customers. Customers consider the proposals featured in the catalog, choose the goods they need, and include a mechanism for price inquiry, after which other potential suppliers for 48 hours to offer their prices on this product.

The trading system automatically selects the supplier with the lowest price, contract forms and sends it to the personal offices of the customer and the supplier on a special information portal of exchange. Within two working days of the determination of the winner of the contract is registered on the stock exchange and the contractual obligations of the parties will come into force. In the short term it plans to introduce this innovation in the system of corporate procurement.

At the end of a news conference experts of State Competition Committee and UZEX answered numerous questions from the media.