The American investment company Franklin Templeton Asset Management has begun managing the assets of the National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The company’s participation in the management of the investment fund was announced in February of this year.
This agreement is being implemented with the aim of supporting Uzbekistan’s economic development and attracting international investors.
As part of the cooperation, Franklin Templeton will manage an investment portfolio of 18 state-owned enterprises and commercial banks owned by the Fund and implement transformation programs aimed at increasing their investment attractiveness. After the implementation of these programs, the shares of the Fund, as well as the enterprises and banks under its management, will be listed on local and international stock exchanges.
To this end, Franklin Templeton will implement transformation programs, including reviewing the development strategies of state-owned enterprises and banks, bringing their corporate governance, financial performance, internal audit, and risk management systems into line with international standards, and improving staff skills.
In the Suzak district of the Jalal-Abad region of Kyrgyzstan, construction has officially begun on major railway facilities for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway.
As part of the construction of this railway, three tunnels with a total length of over 10 km are planned to be built, including: Tunnel No. 1 Naryn (Jaman-Dawan) – 12.5 km; Koshtoba (Kazarman) tunnel – 13.2 km; Fergana mountain tunnel – 12.2 km. The total length of this railway project is 532.53 km.
CHINA, CONSTRUCTION, KYRGYZSTAN, RAILWAY, tunnels, UZBEKISTAN
Large-scale investment projects in the chemical industry are planned in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan, which are expected to transform this industry into one of the key drivers of economic growth in the region. This was announced by the press secretary of the President of Uzbekistan during a meeting in the Urgench district.
This year, the first phase of the construction of a $10 billion gas chemical complex will begin in the Tuprakkalinsky district, which will use MTO (methanol-olefin) technology. Upon completion of the project, the complex will annually produce 14 types of basic polymer products with high added value and a total capacity of up to 2 million tons.
The project was first announced in March last year during the Head of State’s visit to the region. At that time, Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a working meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Energy, Uzkimyosanoat, and a large foreign investment company, whose name was not disclosed.
It was expected that the future production facilities would be able to produce up to 2.5 million tons of products per year and create about 3,000 jobs. The project is scheduled for implementation in 2024–2028.
In addition, a 10-hectare chemical technology park will be created in the Khazarasp district, where projects worth $100 million will be implemented for the production of polymer products.
Special attention was paid to the region’s construction industry. Last year, 663 enterprises in Khorezm produced building materials worth about $86.6 million. To further develop this segment, 40 new projects with a total value of $100 million are planned for implementation in 2025, which will increase production to about $118.1 million.
The management of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan discussed with representatives of Tencent Cloud International, a part of the Chinese holding Tencent Holdings Ltd, the issues of bilateral cooperation in the development of digital technologies and cloud infrastructure in the country, the press service of the regulator reports.
During the talks, the prospects of integrating Tencent’s WeChat Pay digital payment system with local payment systems of Uzbekistan, the possibility of making payments using QR codes, as well as expanding cooperation in this area were discussed, the statement said.
Following the meeting, the parties supported initiatives in the field of payment systems and agreed on future joint actions.
Miraziz Mirkhayotov, deputy director of the Central Bank’s payment systems department, told reporters that Chinese mobile payment services WeChat and Alipay (from Ant Group, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group) can be integrated with Uzbekistan’s national payment systems.
According to him, at the first stage, the parties are working to ensure that foreign tourists can make payments in Uzbekistan. At the second stage, similar work is planned to make payments by Uzbek residents in China through the republic’s payment systems Uzcard and Humo.
Starting from June 1, 2025, Uzbekistan will introduce a simplified procedure for obtaining a 5-year residence permit for foreign citizens and stateless persons. This rule is enshrined in the presidential decree of April 18, the Ministry of Justice reports.
To obtain the document, the applicant must pay $200,000, as well as $100,000 for each family member – spouse, children and parents.
Currently, residence permits in Uzbekistan are issued to certain categories of citizens:
– foreign citizens or stateless persons permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan – upon reaching the age of 16
– persons who have received a permanent residence permit in Uzbekistan in accordance with the procedure established by the Regulations, including persons who have returned to the country and whose Uzbek citizenship has been terminated by law;
– citizens of the countries included in the List of countries whose citizens are entitled to obtain a residence permit in Uzbekistan subject to the acquisition of real estate in Tashkent region and Tashkent city – for the equivalent of at least $300 thousand, Samarkand, Bukhara, Namangan, Andijan, Fergana and Khorezm regions – for the equivalent of at least $200 thousand, in Karakalpakstan and other regions of the republic – for the equivalent of at least $100 thousand;
– persons who permanently reside in Uzbekistan but have not acquired Uzbek citizenship or whose Uzbek citizenship has been terminated by law.
Programs under which foreign nationals are granted a residence permit in exchange for significant investments in the country’s economy are in place in a number of foreign countries (e.g., Portugal, Spain, UAE). Their goal is to attract capital and wealthy foreign investors to the country.
The delegation of the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, headed by Minister Laziz Kudratov, held a series of meetings and negotiations with the leadership of leading corporations, large companies and industry associations during its official visit to the United States.
According to the program of her visit, on April 7, she met with representatives of companies operating in strategically important areas such as mining, hospitality and food industry.
The management of a number of companies praised the reforms in Uzbekistan, relying also on the successful cases of American companies with many years of experience in the country, and expressed readiness to expand cooperation.
As a result of the meetings, agreements were signed on cooperation in the field of critical minerals, agreements were reached on investments in exploration and production of minerals, construction of fine ore grinding complexes (HPGR), introduction of innovative technologies and creation of added value of critical raw materials, as well as training of Uzbek specialists.
In addition, the parties agreed on the timing of the implementation of new projects in the field of tourism – hotel construction.
