International investors will probably only be able to pick up shares in Uzbekistan’s next wave of privatisations—dubbed the “People’s IPOs”—in the secondary market.

That’s according to Quinn Martin, president of Bluestone, a boutique investment bank focused on Central Asia, as cited by Forbes on August 27.

In the People’s IPOs, the government intends to sell small stakes—up to 2% of the total equity—of a wide range of companies to local retail investors. Uzbek gold mine Navoi and copper producer Almalyk will be included in the share offerings. “These are world-class assets,” Martin, who lives full-time in Tashkent, was quoted as saying.

Though some market observers are disappointed reform in Uzbekistan has not moved faster, Martin told Forbes he was impressed by the achievements so far of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, saying: “Shavkat Mirziyoyev has steered the ship 180 degrees in a new direction. He has repaired relations with all of the country’s neighbours, liberated civil society, and is racing ahead with a programme to make the economy open and modern. There are still loads of challenges, but the progress to date is quite remarkable.”

In privatisation implemented by Uzbekistan so far under Mirziyoyev, Hungarian bank OTP bought Ipoteka Bank in 2022, while the State Assets Management Agency (SAMA) of Uzbekistan sold its 57% stake in the local Coca-Cola franchise to Coca-Cola Icecek of Turkey in 2021; SAMA also sold its holding in the Hyatt hotel in Tashkent. It was acquired by the Abu Dhabi Development Fund in 2022. Another deal saw Singaporean conglomerate, Indorama, snap up Uzbekistan’s largest fertiliser producer Kokand Superphosphate in 2019.

Mirziyoyev’s new privatisation plan, was announced in March. The indication is that around 1,000 state-owned enterprises in various regions, 1,500 acres of land and more than 10mn square feet of real estate will feature.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says state-owned enterprises still account for more than half of Uzbekistan’s economic output.