The National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan held its first Investor Day

The event showcased investment opportunities in strategic sectors in one of the world’s most dynamic frontier markets. This three-day event brought together representatives of local, regional, and global investment funds, banks and other financial institutions, and attracted over 200 participants from more than 67 local and international investment firms that collectively manage over USD 1 trillion in assets. The event hosted participants from major financial centers across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and highlighted the strong global institutional investor interest UzNIF has attracted to Uzbekistan.

The Investor Day’s comprehensive agenda included site visits to key UzNIF portfolio companies, panel discussions on key topics such as the macroeconomic outlook, the energy sector, and the financial sector, as well as one-on-one and group meetings with portfolio companies. 

The main day featured keynote speeches and special addresses by Jamshid Kuchkarov, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Timur Ishmetov, Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.

Manraj Sekhon, Chief Investment Officer at Franklin Templeton Global Investments, emphasized that it was a great honor for Franklin Templeton to present Uzbekistan’s investment potential to the international community. He noted that the economic reforms launched in 2017 have brought about significant structural transformation, opening broad opportunities for international cooperation and investment. According to him, Uzbekistan’s highly skilled and youthful population, combined with the government’s strong pro-business policies, has been driving rapid growth across new sectors such as communications, finance, transport, and energy. He also underlined that open dialogue with global investors remains an important factor in strengthening Uzbekistan’s position as an attractive investment destination.

In turn, Marius Dan, Managing Director for Central Asia at Templeton Global Investments, stated that Uzbekistan has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and expressed confidence that this positive trend will continue. He highlighted that UzNIF’s portfolio encompasses the key sectors of the national economy — energy, utilities, banking and finance, and transport — providing investors with deeper insight into the structure and long-term growth potential of Uzbekistan’s economy.

The Investor Day marked an important milestone in promoting Uzbekistan’s position as a growing investment destination and further strengthened dialogue between the government, international investors, and private sector representatives.