President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has reviewed a presentation on accelerating the transformation and IPO preparations for the national carrier, Uzbekistan Airways, the presidential press service announced.
Last month, the National Investment Fund made its debut on the international market, placing assets valued at $690 million. The offering saw overwhelming interest, with demand outstripping supply fourfold and bids from major institutional investors reaching nearly $3 billion, according to the statement.
"The current objective is to fast-track the transformation processes within the 13 major enterprises held in the fund’s portfolio and ready them for public listings," the press service noted.
Work is scheduled for completion this year for several major entities, including Uzbekistan Airways, Uzsanoatqurilishbank (SQB), Uzbekhydroenergo, National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan, and Uzbektelecom.
Experts from Franklin Templeton recently conducted a comprehensive diagnostic review of Uzbekistan Airways and drafted a strategic restructuring program consisting of 115 specific initiatives. Projections indicate that full implementation of this framework could boost the airline's annual operating profit by $120 million.
The presentation highlighted that this additional revenue can be generated by optimizing flight routes, increasing direct ticket sales, refining customer service operations, and reducing flight intervals, delays, and cancellations. Furthermore, efficiency gains will target catering and maintenance services, alongside swift adaptations to market dynamics and the recruitment of highly qualified international specialists.
As a result of these measures, the market value of the airline could increase from $1.6 billion to $2.3 billion. At the same time, the report notes that despite the program being developed several months ago, the pace of its implementation remains sluggish.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that to prepare the company for international capital markets, it is first essential to "fundamentally upgrade management quality, tighten financial discipline, maintain reporting in line with international standards, and improve the corporate credit rating."
By the end of the year, plans are in place to divest a 15–20% stake in the national carrier through an international IPO. To achieve this, measures have been outlined to objectively assess the airline's operations, boost its investment appeal, write off specialized aircraft from its balance sheet, and introduce a compensation mechanism for services performed under state orders.
The presentation highlighted that the rapid growth of the tourism sector is also imposing new demands on the airline. Since the beginning of the year, tourist arrivals to Uzbekistan have surged by 27.5%, reaching nearly 5.5 million people. Growth has been particularly pronounced among travelers from China, Malaysia, Japan, and the US.
However, it was noted that the national carrier is struggling to adapt swiftly to this boom. Delays persist in the expansion of its aircraft fleet.
In light of this, the airline has been tasked with restructuring its procurement system under a specialized framework, ensuring rapid decision-making for fleet expansion, and integrating international best practices into these operations.
The president stressed that "every opportunity exists to transform Tashkent into Central Asia's largest aviation hub." Achieving this requires streamlined coordination between Uzbekistan Airways, Uzbekistan Airports, and the upcoming New Tashkent Airport under a unified system, alongside the interconnected development of infrastructure, flight routes, and transit networks.
The responsible officials were instructed to establish a dedicated project office to systematically manage the transformation of companies within the National Investment Fund's portfolio. They must also recruit specialists with deep expertise in international financial market requirements and practical experience to corporate governing boards, develop a clear timeline for each company's IPO preparation, and maintain strict oversight over its execution.
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