Reuters reports that Uzbek startup Uzum, the largest player in the fintech and e-commerce sector in Uzbekistan, is considering listing on the London Stock Exchange. This was announced in an interview with the agency by the company’s co-founder Nikolai Seleznyov.
According to him, London has been added to the list of potential venues for an IPO, alongside the Nasdaq (New York), Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong exchanges, where interest in Uzum has grown following investments by Chinese company Tencent.
Founded in 2022, Uzum quickly became Uzbekistan’s most valuable startup, valued at $1.5 billion. In August, the company raised $70 million in equity capital from Tencent and the American fund VR Capital, becoming the first “unicorn” (startup unicorn) in the country’s history. Currently, about 17 million Uzbeks use Uzum’s services every month.
Seleznyov noted that the initial public offering (IPO) is planned for 2027, but it is too early to discuss a specific target valuation.
“If we were to go public on the London Stock Exchange, we would definitely consider the FTSE 100,” he said.
During the latest round of funding, Uzum also attracted the attention of investors from the UK and the Middle East. According to Seleznyov, many of them are interested not only in the company itself, but also in the economic potential of Uzbekistan, which in recent years has been actively pursuing reforms under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, opening the country to international investment.
Seleznyov explained that Uzum is considering a foreign IPO due to liquidity and investor base structure issues that affect the company’s valuation. At the same time, he stressed that strengthening its position in the domestic market remains a priority:
“We are not seeking overly rapid geographical expansion. First, we want to truly conquer and dominate Uzbekistan to prove that we are capable of building a system that is competitive on a global level,” he said.
Thus, as Reuters notes, Uzum is not just a fast-growing fintech startup, but a symbol of a new wave of technological development in Uzbekistan, demonstrating the growing confidence of international investors in the country’s economic reforms.
In London, judicial authorities have confirmed the arrest of Chinese citizen Zhimin Qian (also known as Yadi Zhang), who pleaded guilty to cryptocurrency transactions linked to large-scale fraud.
According to British investigators, Qian ran a financial scheme in China between 2014 and 2017, involving approximately 128,000 victims. She converted the money she received into bitcoins and attempted to launder it through transactions in the UK.
During a search of a house in north London, 61,000 bitcoins were seized, which at the time of the investigation were valued at over £5 billion. This seizure is considered one of the largest in the history of crypto crimes.
Qian pleaded guilty to charges related to the illegal possession, acquisition, and laundering of crypto assets. Her extradition and final sentence are expected later.
This case is significant not only for British law enforcement in the field of cryptocurrencies, but also for global law enforcement cooperation in combating transnational money laundering schemes involving digital assets.
State-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) is closing its representative offices in the United Kingdom and the United States to optimize operating costs, the issuer said in a statement in the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC).
According to it, the above decisions were made by the supervisory board of the state-owned bank on August 30, 2024.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of July 1, 2024, Ukreximbank ranked 3rd (UAH 287.18 billion) in terms of total assets among 62 banks in the country.
The net profit of the financial institution in 2023 amounted to UAH 3.25 billion.
A convoy of 20 cars donated by London under the Ulez program for the disposal of vehicles that do not meet emission standards has arrived in Ukraine, The Guardian reports.
“More than 100 cars have been donated to Ukraine under the Ulez program since it was authorized on March 15, of which about half have been delivered so far,” the newspaper writes on Tuesday.
It is reported that the British-Ukrainian organization (BUAID), which manages the scheme in conjunction with Transport for London (TfL), has sent 13 more vehicles to Ukraine for medical and humanitarian purposes.
ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) is an ultra-low emission zone that was introduced in London in 2020. The goal of the program is to reduce the level of harmful emissions into the city’s atmosphere, improve air quality for Londoners and visitors, and promote the transition to more environmentally friendly transportation.
In March of this year, the program began assembling cars for transfer to Ukraine. The vehicles are intended to support the humanitarian and medical needs of the country.
The Ulez zone was expanded by London Mayor Sadiq Khan in August 2023 and now covers the entire capital, making it the world’s largest pollution charge zone. People who drive a car in the zone that does not meet minimum emission standards must pay £12.50 per day.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/21/ulez-scrappage-scheme-vehicles-ukraine
Nova Poshta has opened a Nova Post postal and cargo office in London and launched courier delivery in the UK, the company’s press service said on Monday.
“Today we are celebrating the official start of work in the UK market. Along with the opening of branches, we have also launched courier delivery,” said Vyacheslav Klimov, co-owner of NOVA Group.
In its consolidated annual report for 2023, Nova Poshta indicated that in March 2023, UK Novapay LTD (London) was established. The company’s contribution at the time of establishment amounted to UAH 13.7 million, and additional contributions to the authorized capital during 2023 amounted to UAH 26.21 million. According to reports, Nova Poshta’s share in UK Novapay LTD was 75% at the end of last year.
According to Klymov, in the near future, Nova Poshta customers will also be able to send and receive parcels through the network of post offices of the company’s partner InPost.
According to the company’s press release, Nova Post’s post office in London accepts parcels up to 30 kg, while the freight office accepts parcels up to 1,000 kg.
The cost of delivery from Ukraine to the UK is UAH 900 for documents, UAH 950, UAH 1.5 thousand and UAH 2.5 thousand for parcels up to 2 kg, 10 kg and 30 kg, respectively.
In addition, customers can order delivery of parcels up to 100 kg by courier to any address in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. For parcels up to 30 kg, customers will have to pay an additional UAH 100, and for every 100 kg of parcel, UAH 250.
“Nova Poshta currently has more than 35,000 points of service for sending and receiving parcels in Europe, of which 90 are Nova Post’s own branches in 13 countries: Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Italy, Hungary, Moldova, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
As reported, on April 30, Nova Poshta opened the first Nova Post office in Spain.
New York has once again taken the top spot in the list of the world’s largest financial centers, according to a survey by Z/Yen Group Ltd. financial advisory company, which calculates the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI).
New York has been in the lead since the fall of 2018. Compared to the previous version of the ranking, published in September last year, New York’s score increased to 764 from 763, and London’s, which ranks second, to 747 from 744.
The top three leaders are still Singapore with 742 points, followed by Hong Kong in fourth place and San Francisco in fifth. Shanghai moved up to sixth place, Geneva to seventh, while Los Angeles slipped two positions to eighth. Chicago retained its ninth place, while Seoul moved up to tenth, displacing Washington.
The most significant rise in the ranking was demonstrated by São Paulo (up 21 places) and Wellington (up 15), while Miami (down 14 places) and Helsinki (down 12 places) showed the sharpest drops.
Among the financial centers of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Astana is in the lead (66th place).
The World Financial Centers Index was first published in 2007 and is updated every six months (the current edition is the 35th). The latest ranking was based on a survey of nearly 8.5 thousand respondents.
