Uzbekistan To Sell Off Shares In Its State Owned Enterprises
An introduction to the first batch of 21 companies to be sold to investors
The Uzbekistan government has approved the roadmap for the initial and secondary public offerings of shares of some of its larger state-owned enterprises on the Tashkent stock exchange during 2022 to 2023. This follows reforms announced by the government in terms of liberalizing its economy last year.
The roadmap provides for an audit of large state-owned enterprises with the involvement of international auditors on privatization processes, in addition to public offerings (IPO) of tradeable shares on both the main Tashkent (Uzbekistan) as well as overseas stock exchanges.
The initial batch of shares to be sold include 21 companies from various fields and industries, together with credit ratings where applicable in the links as follows:
Banking
Financial Services
Uzbekinvest
Uzbekistan’s largest insurance company.
Uzagrosugurta
National personal and household insurance.
Alskom
Insurance company.
Universal Sugurta
Insurance company.
Energy
Uzbekneftgaz
Uzbekistan’s national oil and gas enterprise, has JV’s with CNPC and Gazprom, operating numerous gas fields and cross border pipelines.
Uztransgaz
Uzbekistan’s domestic LNG distributor.
Industry
Uzbekistan Airways
National carrier, with a fleet of 32 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, flying to 58 destinations.
Uzmetkombinat JSC
Uzbekistan’s largest steel manufacturer, melting scrap and producing rolled metal sheets.
Uzavtosanoat
Uzbekistan’s auto industry regulator and automotove holding company, controlling 40 automotive companies throughout its group including UzAuto.
Uzauto Motors
National auto manufacturer, produces domestic Ravon brand and Chrysler products, exports throughout the CIS.
Uzbekiston Pochtasi
Uzbekistan’s national postal carrier, including all postal, and financial services.
Uztemiryulkonteyner
National logistics and transportation group.
Uzbekgeofizika
National Eco-Geo company, provides services for the development of environmental impact, topographic and geodetic surveys.
Dori-Darmon
National pharmaceutical wholesalers and retailers.
Uzbekistan is the most liberal of the Central Asian nations, with a population of some 35.5 million, in the heart of the Eurasian region. Landlocked, it shares borders with Kazakhstan to the north; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Tajikistan to the southeast; Afghanistan to the south; and Turkmenistan to the southwest. This gives it strategic importance as a Central Asia hub with a total reachable population of 115 million.
Connectivity beyond its immediate orbit is improving; it has rail connections with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, which in turn lead to East to China, and West to the INSTC and markets in the Middle East and Europe. Uzbekistan has taken advantage of that by signing trade agreements with the European Union and United Kingdom on thousands of products. It is currently negotiating a trade agreement with South Korea, which would give Uzbekistan access to the RCEP FTA.
Direct rail is also to be improved with China, in addition to the long awaited, and recently approved Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway which would connect Uzbekistan to seaports on the Indian Ocean at Pakistan’s Gwadar ports and provide access to South Asian markets.
Uzbekistan’s GDP is set to reach US$62 billion in 2022 and has been expanding post covid at rates just under 6%.
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