Sumitomo Corporation

Uzbekistan

Super iMAX LLC EVO TM

Tell us about your company: I'm the CFO of a joint venture company offering high-speed wireless communications services in Uzbekistan. The company was incorporated by Sumitomo Corporation and KT Corporation. Uzbekistan has 14 regions and our company provides services in eight of those regions, including Tashkent.
We only started offering services in September 2008, so it has been less than two years since the business was launched. However, we are now the second largest company in the industry. High-speed wireless communications are growing rapidly in Uzbekistan and we aim to become the top company in the industry in a few years.
Both the company itself and the employees are young, with employees in their forties or older accounting for less than 10% of the total. I think it is probably one of the youngest companies in Uzbekistan. It is a really powerful, aggressive, and ambitious company.

At the office in Tashkent with colleagues. With the exception of three or four, all of the 170 employees working at the office are Uzbekistani.

How is the Internet used in Uzbekistan?: Broadband Internet has not come into general use yet, but the shift from dialup is underway. More and more people are accessing the Internet at Internet cafes as well, which has led to the increased use of broadband Internet over the last few years. In addition to e-mail and surfing, chat, social network sites, and online games are popular.

A photo taken on a trip to Turkey with my colleagues

Is this your first time to work for a Japanese company?: Yes. Working with Japanese people for the first time, I was surprised at how polite and honest they are when dealing with colleagues. They give careful and logical consideration to future business and have a lot of strategic vision. What struck me in particular is that they are polite and supportive not only where their coworkers are concerned, but also with people outside the company, which naturally makes me behave in a similar manner. When I'm polite and honest with people outside the company, they give me good feedback, so it seems as if a virtuous cycle has been created.