On January 17, 2017 the President issued a Decree "On measures to simplify and accelerate privatization of state-owned assets for business purposes", the Competition Committee announced.
The decree intends to create favorable conditions for doing business, to further simplify the procedures and speed up the process of sale of state property, elimination of bureaucratic barriers to their privatization.
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Karakalpakstan, regional governors and mayor of Tashkent city are granted the right to take decisions on privatization of non-strategic state assets, including at zero redemption cost with the condition of a specific investment commitment.
Decree provides for the creation of favorable conditions and simplifying the number of procedures for acquisition of state-owned assets. For example, tenants of state assets, that have modernized and overhauled the fixed assets and created jobs, are granted the pre-emptive right to acquire the leased asset.
It is also allowed to conclude sale contracts for state-owned assets in case there is only one bidder. A three-year term for payment of redemption cost on privatized asset is foreseen by the decree.
It is prohibited to demand from bidders, Uzbek residents, of documents, other than the application form and a business plan, and to initiate the review and cancellation of the results of privatization.
The decree also provides for the introduction of widely used in international practice, such as initial (IPO) and secondary (SPO) public offer to the population and business entities on the stock exchange.
