On March 1, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the decree on measures to accelerate the processes of reforming enterprises in which the state owns stakes.
The Decree has approved a list of 31 large enterprises with a government’s stake, subject to reform and increase in operational efficiency in 2023-2025. Those stakes shall be transferred from the State Assets Management Agency and other ministries to the Agency for Strategic Reforms, which is entrusted with the task of reforming these companies.
While, UzAssets will manage the stakes, and it will also make decisions on the appointment of members of the executive body and the supervisory board, as well as the distribution of the net profit of enterprises "as agreed in the prescribed manner."
UzAssets is being entrusted with additional tasks for:
- reforming large enterprises that are important for the economy, including the introduction of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles, as well as the involvement of the private sector;
- increasing profitability and operational efficiency, ensuring the financial stability of enterprises and optimizing business processes;
- ensuring effective management and stable development of enterprises transferred to its management, as well as increasing their value and investment attractiveness by implementing recommendations on corporate governance of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD);
- attraction of domestic and foreign qualified managers to the executive body and the supervisory board of enterprises.
International consulting, auditing, investment consultants, investment banks and special companies will now be engaged by selecting the best proposals. At the same time, the contracts entered into with them will not be subject to examination.
The requirement to have own tangible assets in the amount of at least 5% of the average annual value of managed investment assets will not apply to UzAssets.