The Tashkent International Investment Forum, which continues in the capital, has become a platform for meetings of experts and representatives of the business environment from 56 countries. A rich program has been prepared for more than 1.5 thousand participants, it includes a discussion of topics of great importance in the development of the economy of Uzbekistan. One of them is the expansion of the privatization program.
Privatization in Uzbekistan is proceeding at an active pace. In particular, this applies to the transport, energy, chemical sectors, as well as industries and telecommunications. As part of the dialogue with representatives of ministries and departments, as well as specialists from leading foreign companies, the participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with the latest trends in this direction, discuss opportunities for Uzbekistan and investors from other countries, and also identify growth points for developing cooperation with the participation of foreign businessmen.
Omonullo Nasritdinkhodjaev, First Deputy Minister of Finance noted, that in his speech on the first day of the Tashkent International Investment Forum, the President noted that privatization is one of the most important processes currently taking place in Uzbekistan. We have developed a development strategy, where the goal is to bring the share of the private sector in GDP up to 80%. Large privatization projects are implemented solely in accordance with world practices. Today, the state has put up for sale about 1.5 thousand assets, and we are considering the process of selling each of them in private. Other assets, no less important, will also be sold according to a specific individual strategy.
— Uzbekistan is becoming an attractive region for foreign companies and investors. Despite the existing difficulties, we strive to create the necessary conditions for the work of investors in our country. The main issue that interests them is stability, says Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Shukhrat Vafaev. “We need to show how fair and stable our legislation is. When an investor signs a contract, he is faced with many obligations. Because of this, various difficulties may arise, but transparent and understandable legislation will help to resolve these issues.
— Recently, a Presidential Decree “On additional measures to further reduce state participation in the economy and accelerate privatization” dated March 18, 2022, was adopted. In preparing this document, we conducted an inventory, during which more than 2,000 state assets were identified in need of privatization. The final list includes more than 1.5 thousand of them,” said Bekzod Usmonov, Deputy Director of the State Assets Management Agency. “Now we are continuing the experience of implementing a state-owned facility without declaring its value at the auction — investors themselves make offers. So we sold the government stake in Coca-Cola Bottlers Uzbekistan, several hotels, assets of JSC “Ferghanaazot”, Hyatt Regency hotel and others are now put up for auction in Tashkent. Until 2021, we presented objects with the announcement of the cost, and almost all of them remained at the auction. As part of the same decree, assistants of the head of local administration received the authority to identify and process applications for vacant facilities. If proposals from investors are higher than $10 million, consultants have the right to execute the deal themselves without coordinating it with our agency.
“We are impressed with how the Coca-Cola privatization process went — many international participants were involved, everything went openly, transparently and at a high level,” said Shadab Ahmed Khan, regional director of The Coca-Cola Company. – Uzbekistan is open to investors – the tender processes, large investments are open here, and we hope that it will continue to be so – first of all, it is useful for the Uzbek consumer.
Prakash Kejriwal, chief executive of Indorama Corporation, noted, that the government of Uzbekistan supports privatization, as evidenced by the ongoing reforms in the country. There should be no conflict of interest in the privatization process – this also limits access and investor confidence.
– Progressive, dynamic and open to reformation – that’s what I thought when I first arrived in Uzbekistan, – says Muneer Ferozie, Regional Advisory Program Manager for Structuring PPP Projects, Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan, IFC. — Six months after that, we signed the contract. We have privatized the power plant, there is a project in Namangan, and today, within the framework of the forum, we will sign another agreement. I am glad to note the interest of the private sector in privatization and the conditions that the state creates – a positive environment has been formed, there is communication, feedback and partnership. For Uzbekistan to be attractive to investors, timelines must be respected, there must be a strong, stable work of banks, and the investor must be aware of possible risks and costs.