Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is currently working on the creation of the International Financial Center in Tashkent with an ambitious goal to turn the capital of the republic into a leading regional financial hub, a competitive investment and financial center for international business and investors. The creation of the IFC is intended to become an important driver for the realization of the goals of the Strategy “Uzbekistan-2030”, as well as a tool for attracting additional investments and introducing the best practices of corporate governance, ESG and technologies.

During the round-table, the experts discussed Tashkent's competitive advantages for attracting global investors, factors of Uzbekistan's investment attractiveness and conditions required in the IFC to improve it. The current status of the project and initial steps for its implementation were also discussed. 

The moderator was Andrew Hayes, CEO of Hudson Sandler LLP.

The participants of round-table were:

- Alena Dolgova, Director of the Analytical Bureau of IFC Digital

- Sergey Salikov, General Council of Uzum Holding

- Tek Khoan Ong, Director of Private Equity at Franklin Templeton

- Karen Srapionov, Managing Partner, Avesta Investment Group 

- Timur Kurmanbaev, Regional Director, J.P. Morgan

- Chairman of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of Uzbekistan Golib Kholjigitov

The moderator of the roundtable, Andrew Hayes, emphasized the role of the President of Uzbekistan in turning Tashkent into an MFC.

"As the President noted in his speech, financial services are one of the key aspects of economic development. And Tashkent has every chance to eventually become the leading financial center of the region, to become an attractive financial center for investors".

Alena Dolgova, Director of the Analytical Bureau of IFC Digital, noted that there are three main pillars for Tashkent as an international financial centre:

"Firstly, it's the administrative and legal infrastructure. This is very important for investors. Especially important is the working system of implementation of international law in the country. A key important aspect here is to provide investors with broad access to conventional financial methods and products. The emergence of Islamic banks in the region is expected to become a strategic direction for Tashkent. And the third is the competitiveness of the economy. According to IMF estimates, Uzbekistan's annual GDP growth will be more than 5 per cent by 2030. The country is developing very rapidly, and the capital creates a favorable environment for global investors."

Timur Kurmanbaev, Regional Director of J.P. Morgan, spoke about what needs to be done to increase the inflow of investment into the country.

"As the Turkish Prime Minister said, two things are necessary for this to happen-stability of the political climate and certainty of future policy. We want the country to have a greater impact on the international capital market because this is the level that business owners want and expect. We are pleased that the country is demonstrating its openness to the international economy through IPOs and other activities. Many people have been waiting for this for a long time," he says.

Tek Khoan Ong, director of private equity at Franklin Templeton, said the capital market is extremely important for the country's development.

"It's not only good for the economy or companies, but also for ordinary people who need to pay more attention. Just like the capital market, ordinary people in the country need space to invest their money. Investors firstly look for the confidence before investing in a country. And the stability in the financial sector and the establishment of the MFC give this confidence," said Tek Khoan Ong.

Another speaker at the meeting, Karen Srapionov, noted that although several large companies have been privatized in recent years, many have disappeared from the local market. Srapionov noted that there is much to be done in the country's financial sector and expressed hope that the establishment of the International Financial Centre would help speed up the process.