Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s foreign trade expands 15% y/y to $31.3bn in Jan–May
Growth driven by a 31% rise in exports to $14.8bn. Imports rose a modest 3.7% to $16.5bn.
MACRO ADVISORY: Uzbekistan is in need of another gear
Uzbekistan has recorded remarkable growth over the past six years. GDP doubled, average incomes have risen three-fold. The president wants to double the economy again, but to do that, it needs to go up another gear: privatisation needs to accelerate.
Saudi Arabia-based power company ACWA Power plunges head first into Uzbekistan's green energy sector
Saudi Arabia-based utility developer ACWA Power plunged headfirst into the Uzbekistan green energy market. Since making its first investment in 2020 with a 1,500-MW plant in the Silk Road city of Bukhara, it has built $15bn worth of new capacity.
Uzbek capital market reforms unlock corporate funding boom, fuels investor demand
The Uzbek economy is booming and with incomes rising and a middle class emerging, companies are hungry for investment cash. Reforms to the domestic capital market are paying off with a growing volume of corporate bond issues and the first IPOs.
INTERVIEW: Uzum the Uzbek unicorn scaling up in a fast-growing market
Uzum is Uzbekistan’s first ever tech unicorn and leading the pack as the country is being transformed into Central Asia’s tech hub.
FIC head explains why Uzbekistan today is not the Uzbekistan of five years ago
As Uzbekistan continues its transition toward a more open and market-driven economy, there is progress in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and improving the overall business climate.
Uzbekistan investment story reaches critical mass as the first round of international capital arrives to invest into its burgeoning businesses
Uzbekistan sees surge in foreign investor interest as green energy and private capital drive momentum.
TBC Uzbekistan boss Hughes building a Central Asian digital-only banking giant with retail, SME lending and AI services
Since it arrived in Uzbekistan in 2020 by taking over a fintech payment system, Georgia’s TBC has taken the market by storm. The country’s only pure online bank has grown by leaps and bounds and today has 1mn customers.
Central Asia has become “like a girl whose house is full of suitors”, analyst says
Powers including China, Russia, the US and the EU “all promise something to the bride” in scramble for resources such as critical minerals.
Turkey's Koc in a sweet spot in Uzbekistan's burgeoning real estate sector
The Uzbekistan real estate market has entered a sweet spot. A burgeoning population, rising capital inflows, a growing expat community and strong economic growth have combined to lift everyone’s boat.
The Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Combine is the jewel in Uzbekistan's golden crown
The Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Combine is Uzbekistan’s crown jewel and the fourth largest gold mine in the world. It also epitomises the Central Asian republic’s efforts to modernise its economy.
Xi signs treaty to elevate China's ties with Central Asia at Astana summit
Document refers to "permanent good-neighbourliness and friendly cooperation". Chinese leader takes jab at US, saying trade and tariff wars "produce no winners".
Taliban ban women under 40 from entering Uzbekistan border trade hub
Termez market suffers sharp decline in footfall. Move a blow to efforts at building up economic relations with Afghanistan.
PANNIER: Central Asia’s space race
A satellite in orbit offers a nation prestige, essential data in handling natural disasters and, controversially, a blanket “kill switch” for the internet during unrest.
Kazakhstan awards Russia, China one nuclear plant project each, Uzbekistan revises its plan to include large facility
Solution favoured by Astana will help balance relations with Moscow and Beijing.
Israeli embassies worldwide suspend operations
Israeli diplomatic missions globally have suspended operations amid the ongoing Israeli military operation against Iran which has killed nearly 80 people.
Uzbekistan’s President Mirziyoyev strikes neutral stance in investment forum keynote speech
“Uzbekistan has attracted $39bn of FDI in the last eight years, up 10-fold,” Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev told delegates to the fourth Tashkent International Investment Forum (TIIF) on June 10.
Uzbekistan top supermarket Korzinka raises $110mn to fund rapid expansion
Organised retail is growing fast in Uzbekistan, catering to the demands of a growing middle class for convenience and upmarket goods, but it remains in the early stages of development.
Central Asia’s agricultural sector facing heat this coming growing season
Dry and warm conditions expected to heighten irrigation needs.
CENTRAL ASIA BLOG: Tajikistan plays role as one of world’s pre-eminent water diplomats at glacier summit, but Rogun dam remains a hard sell
Experts from near and far met in Dushanbe to discuss danger posed by melting of giant ice sheets. But was “blue-washing” obscuring threat of titanic hydro project?