WSJ about Uzbekistan

The Investment Forum “Capital Market Opportunities of Uzbekistan”, held in New York by the Uzbek delegation during a recent visit to the United States, was reflected in the pages of the leading American financial publication TheWall Street Journal.

As noted in the article, demonstrating the progress of large-scale reforms, Uzbekistan is committed to attracting investors. Referring to the speech of the Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Uzbekistan Sodik Safoeva, the publication notes that the changes taking place in Uzbekistan include the reorientation of the judicial system towards the protection of rights and freedoms, fighting corruption by reducing government intervention in the economy, liberalizing financial markets and creating a favorable investment climate for foreign and domestic investors.

The Wall Street Journal notes a sharp increase in investor interest in Uzbekistan as a strategically located, but landlocked state in Central Asia. It is separately noted that the American business community welcomed the issuance of Eurobonds with a cumulative volume of $ 1 billion in February of this year and is following the further progress of reforms in the country.

“A number of macro factors play in favor of Uzbekistan, among which is the demographic structure, abundance of natural resources, geographical location, large foreign exchange reserves, low level of debt in the public and private sectors,” said Ipek de Wilder, analyst at Auerbach Grayson brokerage agency, citing the publication . At the same time, according to the expert, the capital market is at the stage of formation and investors may encounter difficulties when opening bank and brokerage accounts.

The publication also estimates Alison Graham, Chief Investment Officer of Voltan Capital Management, a New York hedge fund. In her opinion, time is needed to improve the practice of companies in disclosing financial information and meeting the criteria for transparency of foreign investors.

According to Alison Graham, Uzbekistan seeks a free market and plans large-scale privatization of state-owned enterprises. In this context, the involvement of foreign investors in the working capital market, which, in her opinion, is profitable due to savings on interest costs when using bank loans, is being actualized.