The Hungarian OTP Bank OTP Bank will enter into an agreement to purchase 75% of the government's stake in Ipoteka Bank, the Deputy PM/Minister of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Jamshid Kuchkarov announced today at an economic forum in Tashkent.
According to him, the purchase agreement is planned to be signed on Wednesday.
The Deputy PM added that other banks will also be privatized as per the similar scheme - “transformation-preparation for sale-privatization”.
Jamshid Kuchkarov recalled that currently supervisory boards of state-owned banks have independent members.
“This is also good for privatization, because we do not need 10 state-owned banks. Therefore, we plan to use the experience of the privatization of Ipoteka Bank in the privatization of Uzsanoatqurilishbank,” he said.
The plans of the Hungarian OTP Bank to enter the Uzbek market became known in July 2020, when a Hungarian delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó visited Tashkent. In February of this year, it was reported that OTP Bank plans to buy a stake in one of the Uzbek banks.
