TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan's moves to devalue and partly float its currency mark the country's first step toward much-anticipated reforms to wipe out the black market in foreign exchange and liberalize the economy. However, the next steps to come remain unclear.
Remittances from Uzbeks working in Russia and other countries account for around 10% of the economy. This fund flow has mostly gone into the black market. Nearly all purchases of property and cars, as well as bribes for government officials, are made in dollars.
