Uzbekistan plans to sell government stakes in a number of major companies, under a list approved by the August 28 presidential decree aimed at reducing the state's role in the economy.
Under the decree, a 98.9 percent stake in Turonbank is to be put up for public auction. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has been tasked with preparing the bank for privatization, taking into account its readiness for sale and the findings of international consultants.
The state also plans to fully privatize the insurance company Xalq Sug'urta, in which it currently holds a 100 percent stake.
In the transport sector, the government will sell its 90 percent stake in the Tashkent Passenger Railcar Construction and Repair Plant, as well as a 100 percent stake in the Andijan Mechanical Plant, part of the state railway operator Uzbekistan Railways.
The list also includes the planned sale of:
- 91.83 percent stake in Uzexpocentre;
- 79.27 percent stake in the International Cooperation Center (an international business center near the Bodomzor metro station);
- 54.76 percent stake in KO-UNG Cylinder;
- 50 percent stake in Kor-UNG Investment;
- 50 percent stake in V-GEN Biopharma;
- 100 percent stake in Inno Technopark;
- 50 percent stake in Ustudy; and
- 51 percent stake in the Uzbek-Turkish Testing Center.
Special conditions apply to the International Cooperation Center and Uzexpocentre: their privatization must proceed according to sale concepts and terms agreed with the Presidential Administration.
The list also includes the state's stake in Trustbank, though that holding amounts to just 0.001 percent. The decree allows this stake to be sold at market price without a separate valuation.
The privatization drive also extends to the road sector. The state intends to sell shares and stakes in the unitary enterprise Avtomagistral, along with a number of provincial companies responsible for road construction, operation and maintenance.
The list further includes numerous trading facilities. The government plans to sell its stakes in dehqon (farmers') markets and trade complexes in the Namangan, Samarkand, Surkhandarya, Tashkent and Ferghana provinces, where the state holds controlling interests in many cases.
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