Acknowledgment
The Investment Guide Uzbekistan is intended as a useful resourcefor poten al investors interested in Uzbekistan. This publica on
provides comprehensive insights into the country's key economic
and business condi ons, investment processes, taxes, as well as
accoun ng, legal and labor issues. It aims to facilitate the discovery
of untapped sectoral opportuni es to start a business in
Uzbekistan.
This publica on was prepared by the Ministry of Investments andForeign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, with the technical andﬁnancial assistance of the Japan Interna onal Coopera on Agency(JICA). PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was appointed as atechnical advisor in developing this publica on. The Chamber ofCommerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan (CCI), as well
as a number of governmental and non-governmental organiza ons
contributed to this publica on by providing valuable feedback andreviewing the investment guide.
Disclaimer
All the data included in this publica on was obtained from oﬃcial
and publicly available sources and is for informa on purposes only.
Moreover, it may not reﬂect the most current legal developments
and sta s cs. The views expressed in this publica on are those of
the author and do not necessarily reﬂect the views of JICA or PwC.
Before making speciﬁc investment decisions, it will o en benecessary to refer directly to the country's most current laws,
regula ons and legal decisions, and to seek the appropriate
professional advice.

Published by
Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of
Uzbekistan
Islam Karimov Street 1, Tashkent, 100029, Uzbekistan
August 2022
Copyright© Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of
Uzbekistan.
All rights reserved.

Chamber of Commerceand Industry of Uzbekistan

Table ofcontents

Introduction
Government institutions promoting investment ................................... 02
Abbreviations .................................................................................................... 03
1. Country snapshot
1.1. Why invest in Uzbekistan ........................................................................ 06
1.2. Country overview and transport logistics ................................................... 07
1.3. Progress of reforms ................................................................................ 09
1.4. Macroeconomic growth and stability .................................................. 11
1.5. Human capital .......................................................................................... 121.6. International trade ................................................................................ 13
1.7. Free economic zones and cost of doing business .............................. 15
2. Sectors in Uzbekistan
2.1. Agriculture ............................................................................................... 16
2.2. Oil and gas ...................................................................................................... 17
2.3. Energy ..................................................................................................... 18
2.4. Manufacturing:
2.4.1. Food processing ....................................................................................... 19
2.4.2. Textile, leather and silk .......................................................................... 20
2.4.3. Chemicals ........................................................................................ 21
2.4.4. Pharmaceuticals ....................................................................................... 22
2.4.5. Construction materials ......................................................................... 23
2.5. ICT ............................................................................................................. 24
2.6. Finance ................................................................................................. 25
2.7. Education ............................................................................................. 26
2.8. Healthcare ......................................................................................... 27
3. Establishing and running a company
3.1. Establishing a company ........................................................................... 30
3.2. Public-private partnerships .................................................................... 33
3.3. Privatization ............................................................................................. 35
4. Taxes, customs and accounting
4.1. Tax regime ................................................................................................ 38
4.2. Customs regulations ............................................................................... 39
4.3. Tax and customs incentives ..................................................................... 40
4.4. Accounting and auditing requirements ...................................................... 42
5. Legal matters5.1. Investment-related laws ................................................................................. 44
5.2. Intellectual property rights ............................................................................. 45
5.3. Dispute settlement ................................................................................... 46
6. Labour and human resources
Labor and human resourses ............................................................................. 48
Appendix ......................................................................................................................... 50

Government ins tu ons and organiza ons
promo ng investment
The government promotes Uzbekistan as a viable
and a rac ve investment des na on and assists
investors through collec ve inter-governmental
coordina on and partnerships with various
stakeholders.
MIFT is the state body authorized to regulate
investment and trade na onwide while UzIPA
provides foreign investors with comprehensive
support as a ﬁrst contact point. Ministries in

Uzbekistan assist investors with sector-speciﬁc
projects and public-private partnerships (PPPs)
serving as public-sector partners.
Outside of government, CCI represents the Uzbek
private sector in investment and trade, advoca ng
for its members' legi mate rights and interests.
More than 60 industry associa ons are available inthe country to help their members through all stagesof establishing and running a business.

Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade (MIFT)
The MIFT is responsible for the implementa onof uniﬁed policies, coordina on of the ac vi esof state bodies and other organiza ons, andpromo on of Uzbekistan in the ﬁeld of investment
and trade.

24 Ministries responsiblefor diﬀerent sectoral andpolicy ma ers
Investment Promo on Agency
under MIFT (UzIPA)
The UzIPA promotes Uzbekistan as ana rac ve investment des na on,
providing informa on and essen alservices for investors as a ﬁrst contact
point. For any inquiries, please visit
its website.

Chamber of Commerceand Industry (CCI)The CCI assists business en es
and its members as a non-proﬁtbody, aiming to strengthen links
in the community, a ract
investments, and support
interac ons with state authori es.

Uzbek embassies andconsulates in foreigncountries
Over 60 industry
associa ons fromvarious sectors

02Abbrevia ons
Abbreviations

Description

BCU

Basic calculation unit

BIT

Bilateral investment treaty

CBU

Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan

CCI

Chamber of commerce and industry of Uzbekistan

CIS

Commonwealth of Independent States

CIT

Corporate income tax

CPS

Centre of Public Services

EBRD

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

EIB

European Investment Bank

EPC

Engineering, Procurement and Construction

E-visaWorking (employment) entry visa

FDI

Foreign Direct Investment

FEZ

Free Economic Zones

GATT

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GDP

Gross Domestic Product

GMP

Good Manufacturing Practice

GSP

Generalised Scheme of Preferences

ICSID

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

ICT

Information and Communication Technologies

IFIs

International Financial Institutions

IFRS

International Financial Reporting Standards

IMFInternational Monetary FundIPIntellectual property

IP agency

Intellectual Property Agency under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan

IPO

Initial public offering

ICSC

International Civil Service Commission

JSC

Joint stock company

Law on investments

Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Investments and Investment Activities

LLC

Limited liability company

MELR

Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan

MIFT

Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan

NAS

National Accounting Standards

PE

Permanent establishment

PPP

Private-Public Partnership

PPPDA

PPP Development Agency under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan

PPP law

Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Public-Private Partnership

Privatization law

Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on “Denationalization and Privatization”

PSA

Production Sharing Agreement

SCS

State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics

SoE

State-owned enterprise

SPO

Secondary Public Offering

TIAC

Tashkent International Arbitration Centre

USD

United States Dollar

UzSAMA

State Assets Management Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan

VAT

Value Added Tax

INVESTMENT GUIDE UZBEKISTAN

1Country snapshot

1.1. Why invest in Uzbekistan?
1.2. Country overview and transport
logis cs
1.3. Progress of reforms
1.4. Macroeconomic growth and stability
1.5. Human capital
1.6. Interna onal trade
1.7. Special economic zones and cost of
doing business1.1

Why invest in Uzbekistan?

Rapidly
growingand stableeconomyAbundant anddiverse natural
resources(natural gas,gold, etc.)

Young andwell-educatedworkforce

Uzbekistan sits on the ancient Silk Road,
strategically located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. It is one of the fastestgrowing economies in Central Asia: Despite
the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's GDP
grew by 1.9% in 2020, with a subsequent
strong recovery of 7.4% in 2021, according to
the State Commi ee of the Republic of
Uzbekistan on Sta s cs (SCS). The country,
whose popula on totals 35 million, represents
a large market for various goods and services,
as well as a gateway to the markets ofCommonwealth of Independent States (CIS)¹
and neighboring countries.
Large-scale poli cal and economic reforms

Large-scale
reforms andpriva za on
programs for an
open economy
and favorable
investment
climateLarge domes cmarket with apopula on of
35 million andeasy access toneighboring
countries
and CIShave been ongoing in Uzbekistan since
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's elec on in2016, which have led to a more open, marketoriented economy and a more favorable
investment climate, amid eﬀorts for the privaza on of major state-owned enterprises.
Uzbekistan holds abundant reserves of natural
gas and of gold, uranium, silver, copper, andmany other minerals. This provides mul ple
viable investment opportuni es, and cushions
the country's macroeconomic stability. The
country possesses a young and qualiﬁed labor
force and oﬀers a variety of tax and customs
incen ves and facili es for cost-eﬀec ve
investment and trade.

¹ Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is an interstate regional organiza on that unites 11 independent states following thedissolu on of the Soviet Union in 1991, which comprises of 9 member states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as 2 associate members: Ukraine and Turkmenistan.

06

1.2

Country overview and transport logis cs

Official name

Religion

Republic of Uzbekistan

Islam - 88% (mostly Sunni),
Eastern orthodox - 9%; other - 3%

World region

Geography

Central Asia

Double landlocked country (50% desert,
20% mountain)

CapitalCurrency

Tashkent

Uzbek soum (1 USD = 10,837 UZS as ofJanuary 1 , 2022)

Population

Ethnicity

35.3 millions(as of January 1 , 2022)

Uzbek - 83.8%, Tajik - 4.8%, Kazakh - 2.5%,
Russian - 2.3%, Karakalpak - 2.2%, Tatar 1.5%, other - 4.4% (2017)

Area

Climate448,900 km²

Continental; annual rainfall: 243 mm;
temperature: 42 to 47 ºC (high),-11 to -2 ºC (low)

AltitudeRiver system

Lowest point: Saryqamish Kuli - 5 m
Highest point: Beshtor peak - 4,299 m

Major rivers: Amudarya, Syrdarya,
Zarafshan, Surkhandarya and Chirchiq

Literacy rate

Life expectancy at birth

100% (2019)

73,4 years (2020)

Language

Form of government

Uzbek (official language),
Russian (widely used),
English (increasingly used in large cities)

Uzbekistan is a presidential constitutional
republic, in which the president is the headof state. The Cabinet of Ministers is led by
the Prime Minister.

Sources: State Commi ee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Sta s cs (SCS) (2022); World Development Indicators (2021)

07

to Russia and Europe

Qyzylorda

Komsomol'sk

MoynakAltynkul
Kungradto Far East
RussiaK A Z A K H S TA N

Zhaslyk

Takhtakupyr

Chimbay

ZhambylKulkuduk

to China

NUKUS
Mynbulak

Shymkent
Uchquduq

Beruni
Turtkul

URGENCH

ZarafshonTASHKENT

Khiva

ChirchikAngrenNAMANGANANDIJAN

Almalykto Europe via the
Caspian Sea andthe Caucasus

KokandNurataFarishDargan Ata
Gazli

Gizhduvan

Kattakurgan
BUKHARA
Mubarek

T

Kasan

ChardjouU

Jizzakh

Shakhrisabz
Dushanbe

KARSHIRK

TA J I K I S TA N

Guzar

M

Denau

E

Railroad

FERGANA

BekabadSAMARKAND

KaganInternational airport

Guliston

NAVOI

N
IS

National roads

Amudar'ya

N

Mary

TA

Major highways

to Iranʼs seaports

CitiesTERMEZHairatanA F G H A N I S TA N
to Pakistanʼs seaports

Railways and Roads: According to SCS, thetotal length of railways in Uzbekistan was
4,732.8 km in 2021. Railways have the highest
volume of foreign freight, accoun ng for 39.1
million tonnes (79% of total foreign freight).
High-speed passenger trains, Afrosiyob, primarely operate along the Tashkent, Samarkand
and Bukhara routes, connec ng Tashkent andSamarkand in about two hours. The total lengthof Uzbekistan's automobile road network was
184,000 km in 2021. Road transport of foreign
freight accounts for 10.4 million tonnes (21% of
total foreign freight).
Uzbekistan is connected with interna onal
markets through several land routes. The
largest route in terms of cargo volume is theEast route, linking Uzbekistan with the seaports of Far East Russia (Vladivostok) and China(Shanghai) via Kazakhstan. Construc on of arailway via Kyrgyzstan to China—the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway—is presently
under nego a on, as it would provide a shorterroute to China than the Kazakhstan one. The

08

North and West routes connect Uzbekistanwith Russia (Moscow), and Europe via the
Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. The South routeprovides access to seaports in Iran (Chabahar)
via Turkmenistan, and in Pakistan (Karachi,
Gwadar and Qasim) via Afghanistan by road. A
feasibility study is being prepared on the TransAfghan railway connec ng Uzbekistan withPakistan's major seaports via Afghanistan.
Airports: Uzbekistan has 11 airports, having
served 5.4 million passengers and 82 thousand
tonnes of cargo in 2021 (0.1% of the total
foreign freight). Tashkent Islam Karimov
Interna onal Airport is the largest airport in the
country, serving approximately 4.5 million
passengers with a terminal capacity of 1,200
passengers per hour. Samarkand Interna onal
Airport, a tourist hub, is the second largest
airport, with a terminal capacity of 400
passengers per hour. A new terminal opened in
March 2022, which is expected to increase theairport's capacity to 1,000 passengers per hour.

Progress of reforms

1.3• Liberaliza on of the foreign exchange
market and uniﬁca on of mul ple exchange
rates;• Changes to the tax and customs system;• Development of public-private partnerships;• Reforms in the ﬁnancial and banking sectors
and priva za on of state-owned enterprises(SoEs);• Establishment of a more compe ve environment in various sectors of the economy;• Enhancement of mutually beneﬁcial
coopera on with neighboring countries.

Economic reforms in Uzbekistan haveaccelerated since 2017, when the government
adopted a ﬁve-year development plan: theAc on Strategy for 2017–21. The strategy
aimed to liberalize the Uzbek economy. It
designated the private sector as a key driver forthe country's economic growth and target tobecome an upper-middle-income country by
2030.
The government ini ated several key reforms
in implemen ng the Ac on Strategy, including:
Key reforms ini ated (2017-2021)

2017

Ac on strategy:
Establishing poli cal,economic and social
guidelines and priories in the na onal
development agenda
Judicial and legal reforms:
Reliably protec ng
ci zen’s rights andfreedoms, increasing
the level of access tojus ceCurrency liberaliza on:
En a b l i n g t h e f re epurchase and sale offoreign currency forthe funding of current
interna onal operaons
Civic engagement:
Encouraging ci zen
par cipa on in addressing the quality of
government services
for ﬁrms and ci zens,enhancing public
accountability, andstrengthening transparency

2018

Price liberaliza on:
Removing price regula ons for basic foods
and u li es, andrestoring the eﬃcientdelivery of basic commodi es, hea ng andelectricity

Court system:
Establishing the Uzbekistan Supreme Court
and Judicial Council,
along with economic
courts to protect thelegi mate interests ofentrepreneurs
Customs reforms:
Removing ar ﬁcial
restric ons on foreign
trade and substanally reducing importtariﬀs for nearly 8,000
items

2019

Tax reforms:
Implemen ng a newtax code to substanally reduce the tax
burden on the economy
Work permits and visas:

VISA

Introducing a visafree regime for theci zens of 76 countries as well as special
visas for investors

Land ownership:
Priva zing land for
Uzbek residents aswell as housing construc on and the maintenance of residen albuildings
Public-private partnerships:
Introducing a PPP law
and implemen ng
PPP projects

2020

Digitaliza on
Implemen ng measures for the widespread developmentof a digital economy,
including introducing
modern informa on
and communica ontechnologies in all
sectors of the na onal
economyFinancial and banking sector
reforms:
Implemen ng a widearray of measures toreform the ﬁnancial
and banking sectors

2021

Capital markets:
Developing capital
markets in Uzbekistan
and achieving key performance indicatorssuch as overall market
capitaliza on andfree-ﬂoa ng shares
State enterprise reforms:
Developing a strategy
for the ﬁnancial recovery of SoEs, increasing opera onal eﬃci e n cy, a s we l l a s
implemen ng amodern corporate
governance system

Licensing and permi ng
procedures:
Abolishing 70 out of
266 licenses and 34
out of 140 permits

Na onal sustainable
development strategy:
Developing and implemen ng a holis cna onal sustainable
development agenda
to be fulﬁlled by 2030

09

The country achieved notable progress in
structural transforma ons, improving
investment climate, and ensuring more free,transparent and level playing ﬁeld for theentrepreneurs. Due to the strong poli cal willand determina on for economic liberalizaon over the last ﬁve years, Uzbekistan is
improving its posi on in interna onal
rankings on investment climate and doing
business, despite the nega ve consequencesof the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the government adopted a newna onal development strategy - “Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 20222026”. The strategy envisages to a ract $120
billion investments in the next ﬁve years,
including foreign investments of $70 billion
with a focus on the power, transporta on,
healthcare, educa on, green economy,
u li es and water management.
Other ini a ves related to investments andbusinesses in the strategy include:• Reforms in the agriculture sector and landuse.
• Reforms in the educa on and healthcare
sectors.
• Digitaliza on of the economy.

10

Performance of Uzbekistan in various interna onal
rankings in 2016 and 2021
DOING BUSINESS

1#69
ENVIRONMENT 6PERFORMANCE#87

ECONOMICFREEDOM

#88

2

#108
#118
#166
#122

#105
#118

GLOBALINNOVATION

5

#82

#101
3
HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT

#99

2021
4
LOGISTICSPERFORMANCE

2016

Source:1. World Bank (2016/2020)
2. The Heritage Founda on (2016/2021)
3. UNDP (2016/2021)
4. World Bank (2016/2018)
5. WIPO (2016/2022)
6. Yale University (2016/2020)• Liberaliza on of trade regime and possible
accession to regional customs unions and
WTO.
• Implementa on of far-reaching priva za on
programs and reforms on state-owned
enterprises.

1.4

Macroeconomic growth and stability

Uzbekistan has eﬀec vely addressed the
COVID-19 crisis, becoming one of the
few countries in the world to achieve
posi ve economic growth in 2020. The
government has implemented strong
p o l i c y m e a s u re s t o m i g a t e t h eeconomic impact of the pandemic,
i n c l u d i n g i n c re a s e d s p e n d i n g i nhealthcare and social assistance andﬁnancial support to the private sector.
Uzbekistan's outlook for economic
development remains stable, as thegovernment con nues to move thecountry towards a market-oriented
economy, greater resource eﬃciency,
and a more compe ve and transparent
business environment driven by privatesector growth.
The Uzbek economy has maintained solid
ﬁscal and external buﬀers, with a state

GDP growth rate, %
7.4

8.0

5.4

6.0

5.7
5.0

4.4

5.0

5.5

3.4

4.0

2.0

1.9
0.0
2017

2018

2019

2020

Uzbekistan (SCS)

2021

2022(e) 2023(e) 2024(e) 2025(e)Uzbekistan (IMF)

Source: SCS (2022), IMF (2022)

Sovereign Credit Ra ng/Outlook (2022)
B1 / Posi ve

BB- / Stable

BB- / Stable

Source: respec ve ra ng agencies' websites

debt of less than 40% of GDP and 35 billion USD inforeign reserves in 2021.

Key macroeconomic indicators
Indicators

2018

2019

2020

2021

GDP per capita (current USD)

1 611.2

1 801.4

1 767.4

1 901.5

GDP, bln USD

52.62

59.91

59.93

65.50

Agriculture, %

30.0

26.9

27.1

26.9

Industry, %

25.3

28.1

27.5

27.8

Construc on, %

5.8

6.3

6.7

6.7

Services, %

38.9

38.7

38.7

38.5

14.3

15.2

11.1

10.0

Inﬂa on (annual average consumer prices), %Central Bank policy rate, %

16

16

14

14²

Interna onal reserves (including gold), bin USD

26.5

27.7

33.0

34.8

Government debt, % of GDP

19.7

28.4

37.6

36.8

Current Account Balance, % of GDP

-6.8

-5.6

-5.0

-7.0

FDI inﬂow, bin USD

625

2 316

1 726

N/A

Unemployment rate, %

9.3

9.0

10.5

9.6

Source: CBU (2021), SCS (2021), MELR (2021), IMF (2021), UNCTAD (2021) and WB (2021)² The Central Bank policy rate is 15% as of 22.07.2022.

11

1.5

Human capital
Popula on pyramid

Uzbekistan is the most populous country inCentral Asia. Its popula on, currently at 35
million, grows by nearly 2% each year. It is evenly
distributed by gender, mostly of working age or
younger, and has high gradua on and literacy
rates.

90

75
70

Popula on and its growth rate

35.27

65

34.56

34

1.2%

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Female

3.6%
4.7%
4.9%

5.4%

45

5.6%

6.1%

40
35

Male

2.3%

4.3%
4.5%

50

6.2%

7.3%

7.4%

9.0%

8.9%

9.6%

9.4%

8.7%

8.4%

7.7%

7.4%

8.9%

8.5%

9.9%

9.3%

11.1%

10.4%

Source: SCS (2021)

ins tu ons, and 22 foreign universi es andbranches.

140

5

120

126

4

33.26
32.66

119
98

100

84
80

3

32.12

70

64

72

70

67

71

60

32

2

1.71

1.68

1.84

1.95

1.92

40

1.97
1

31
30

0
2016

2017

2018

growth rate, %Source: SCS (2021)

12

0.7%

1.0%
3.2%

60

6

33.91

33

0.6%

0.6%

Number of higher educa onal ins tu ons
and graduates

36

35

0.5%

2.0%

55

Due to the government's sweeping educa onreforms, between 2017 and 2020, na onwide
a endance rose from 25% to nearly 50% inpreschools and from 9% to 25% in highereduca on ins tu ons. The enrollment rate inprimary and secondary schools in Uzbekistan is
now almost 100%. The number of undergraduate
and postgraduate educa on providers in the
country has meanwhile reached 126, with 93
s t a t e i n s t u o n s , 1 1 p r i va t e d o m e s c

0.3%
0.4%

85
80

2019

2020

number, min

2021

20
0
2016

2017

2018

higher educa onal ins tu ons

Source: SCS (2021)

2019

2020

number of graduates (000')

Interna onal trade

1.6

Uzbekistan has made signiﬁcant strides
towards liberalizing its trade regime andreducing trade barriers and administra vebo lenecks for importers and exporters since2017. It has opened up to global trade byembracing mul faceted interna onal relaons, having concluded most-favored-na on
clauses with 47 countries and bilateral
investment trea es with 48.
In July 2020, Uzbekistan has resumed
nego a ons to join the WTO, the accession towhich would enable the country to become an
integral part of the global economy andmul lateral trade system. In April 2021,
Uzbekistan joined the European Union'sGeneralized Scheme of Preferences Plus
(GSP+), which removes tariﬀs from more than
6,200 commodity items exported to EU
member countries.
Uzbekistan's key export des na ons are
China, Russia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. The
main Uzbek export is gold, accoun ng for 25%of the share, followed by services (15%), metals(10%), and foods (9%). Uzbekistan primarily
imports machinery (37%), chemical products(17%), and foods (11%). China and Russia
con nue to lead in terms of imports in the
Uzbek market, followed by Kazakhstan andSouth Korea.
Main export partners

Main exports

China
OthersGold
24%

Machinery

16,610
mln
USD

4%
5%

Energy

15%

25%

44%

Others

16,610
mln
USD

15%

10%
Services8%9%Chemicals

Turkey

7%

10%

Foods

Russia12%

3% 4% 5%
Kazakhstan
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan
Afghanistan

MetalsMain import partners

Main imports
OthersRussiaOthers13%

EnergyServices21%

Machinery

6%25,461
mln
USD

7%
9%

29%

37%

MetalsTurkmenistan
Germany

11%

19%
China

7%

17%

11%

TurkeyFoods
Chemicals
Source: SCS (2021)

3%
3%
7%

25,461mln
USD

South Korea

Kazakhstan

13

1.7

Free economic zones and cost of doing business

As of July 1st, 2022, Uzbekistan had 24
free economic zones (FEZs) oﬀeringexport-oriented enterprises special
beneﬁts and infrastructure. Between
2008 and 2021, 559 investment
projects were implemented in FEZs,
which created 46,833 jobs anda racted 905.6 million USD in foreign
investments.
Uzbekistan provides businesses withcompe ve, low-cost u lity tariﬀs andcorporate income tax (CIT) and valueadded tax (VAT) rates. The country's
physical infrastructure is meanwhile
undergoing a large-scale modernizaon and expansion process. Moreover,Uzbekistan has a well-educatedworkforce at rela vely a rac ve wages
and labor costs.

FEZ loca ons across Uzbekistan (2022)

Karauzak

Nukus

Bustonlik-pharm

Navoi
whole region

Mashinasozlik

Parkent-pharmSirdayo-pharmNamanganAngrenKarakulGijduvanAndijan-pharmSirdayoJizzakh

Urgut

Bukhara-agro

KokandZamin-pharmGallaorol

Tourism FEZ

Chiroqchi

Pharmaceu cal FEZ
Agriculture FEZ
TermezIndustrial FEZ

Tax exemp ons for FEZ enterprises
Types

Dura on• Corporate incometax• 5 years for an investment of 5 million to 15 million USD• 3 years for an investment of 3 million to 5 million USD• 10 years for an investment above 15 million USD• Property tax• 3 years - investment of 300,000 to 3 million USD• Land tax and• 5 years - investment of 3 million to 5 million USD• Water usage tax• 7 years - investment of 5 million to 10 million USD• 10 years - investment above 10 million USD

Cost of doing business.
Indicator

Uzbekistan

CIS averageElectricity, $ per 1 kWt

0.03

0.049

Water, $ per m³

0.04

0.07

Natural gas, $ per m³

0.04

0.198

Average monthly wage, USD

266

428

Corporate income tax, %

15

17.5

Value added tax, %

15³

17

Personal income tax, %12

12Source: SCS (2021), CEIC Data (2021)³ Value added tax (VAT) rate will be 12% from January 1, 2023.

14

Kosonsoy-pharmCharvak-tourism

Hazarasp

INVESTMENT GUIDE UZBEKISTAN

2Sectors
in Uzbekistan

2.1. Agriculture
2.2. Oil and gas
2.3. Energy
2.4. Manufacturing
2.4.1. Food processing
2.4.2. Tex le, leather and silk
2.4.3. Chemicals
2.4.4. Pharmaceu cals
2.4.5. Construc on materials
2.5. ICT
2.6. Finance2.7. Educa on
2.8. Healthcare

Agriculture

2.1

Why invest in Uzbekistan's agricultural sector?
• Favorable climate for agricultural products and available arable land
• Growing domes c demand and opportuni es for exports• Sector-speciﬁc tax incen ves and agricultural FEZs

The agricultural sector at a glance• Agriculture plays an important role in the
Uzbek economy. As of 2020, 49% of thecountry's popula on lived in rural areas, where
agriculture has been central for the economy
and food security. The sector accounted for
26% of GDP, 10% of export revenues, and 25%of total employment.
• Uzbekistan possesses signiﬁcant agriculturalland resources. The country's total harvested
area in 2020 exceeded 4 million hectares. Its
main agricultural yields have been wheat(34.4%), co on (29.9%), fruits (8.9%), forage
crops (7.1%), vegetables (5.9%), grapevines(3.2%), potatoes (2.4%), and watermelons(1.4%), with other crops accoun ng for 8.3% ofproduc on according to SCS.
• Uzbekistan is one of the major agricultural
suppliers in Central Asia and the CIS, with agrowing export presence in China. The total
Hor culture and livestock produc on,in trln UZS
98.4

83.3
61.7

53.9

2016

111.8
104.5

volume of agricultural exports from Uzbekistan
amounted to 1.5 billion USD in 2020. The
country's major exports in the sector have been
wheat ﬂour (14.3%); beans (12.8%); apricots,peaches, cherries, and plums (12.4%); andgrapes (12.4%).
• The government has adopted the Strategy for
Agricultural Development in Uzbekistan for
2020–30. The strategy's chief objec ves are toliberalize the agricultural sector for thedomes c and export markets and to implementa sustainable agricultural ecosystem.
• The sector enjoys a variety of tax incen ves.
This includes 0% CIT on proﬁts from selling
crops which cons tute at least 90% of theenterprise's total income, alongside incen ves
related to property, land, water, and excise
taxes. Currently, one agricultural FEZ isavailable in Bukhara.
Co on produc on, in thous. tons

126.4
123.9

2 959

2 900
2 268

89.0

2 628

3 064

64.9

2017

livestock
Source: SCS (2021)

2018

2019

2020

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

hor culture
Source: SCS (2021)

Major foreign investors in the sector• Indorama Corpora on (Singapore) in 2018 founded Indorama Agro, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary ofIndorama Corpora on, which is one of the largest co on farms in Uzbekistan. The enterprise produces
co on, wheat and other crops. It has invested around 200 million USD in the sector so far.
• Silverleafe Interna onal (USA) formed the Uzbek-American joint venture Silverleafe, LLC, in 2018. The
company has invested 344 million USD in establishing a modern agricultural cluster in the Jizzakh region. It
specializes in raw co on cul va on, deep processing of agricultural raw materials, among other ac vi es.

16

Oil and gas

2.2

Why invest in Uzbekistan's oil and gas sector?
• Large proven gas reserves• Increasing demand for gas and oil products both domes cally and regionally• Signiﬁcant government incen ves to transi on to oil and gas processing

The oil and gas sector at a glance• The oil and gas sector con nues to be one of
Uzbekistan's leading industries. The sector
provides considerable budget revenues,
export earnings and employment for Uzbekistan, while boos ng other industries. The
state-owned Uzbekne egaz is responsible forthe domes c produc on of oil and gas. Most
interna onal oil and gas companies opera ng
in the country have signed produc on sharing
agreements with the state company.
• Uzbekistan has abundant hydrocarbon
reserves. As of January 1st, 2021, Uzbekistan's proven natural gas reserves totaled an
es mated 1.866.9 billion cubic meters, the19th largest in the world (accoun ng for
approximately 1% of global gas reserves).
Uzbekne egaz owns more than half of thesedomes c reserves, and Lukoil (Russia) nearly aNatural gas reserves by region (bln m³)

1

5
2

Ferghana
66

3
Gissar82

4• Uzbekistan intends to shi from being a gas
exporter to a major exporter of processed gas
products. The government plans to graduallycease natural gas exports and instead increase
the processing of gas into higher-value-added
products. Uzbekistan launched its ﬁrst gas-toliquids (GTL) plant in 2021, to process
domes cally-extracted gas into liquid-based
products and hence reduce its dependency on
the la er imports. The GTL plant cost 3.6 billion
USD to build and aims to produce annually 1.5
million tons of synthe c liquid fuels such as
kerosene, diesel, liqueﬁed petroleum gas, andnaphtha.
Natural gas reserves and produc on volume by company

Ustyurt
1 200

Bukhara-Khiva
500

quarter. According to BP, Uzbekistan had 600
million barrels' worth of oil reserves as of 2021,
the 46th largest globally.

Surkhandarya
66

Source: Uzbekne egaz (2020)

Company

Reserve volumes(bln m³ (%))

Produc on volumes(bln m³ (%))

Uzbekne egaz934 (50%)

34.1 (64.3%)

Lukoil (Russia)

413.1 (22.1%)

13.8 (25.7%)

Uz-Kor Gas Chemical(Korea)109.6 (5.9%)

2.1 (3.9%)

Shurtan Gas Chemical

108.6 (5.8%)

n/aEpsilon Development
Company (USA)50.2 (2.7%)

1.4 (2.5%)

Source: Uzbekne egaz (2020)

Major foreign companies in the sector• Lukoil (Russia) entered the Uzbek market in 2004 by signing gas produc on sharing agreements (PSA) with
Uzbekne egaz, and it has since become the largest foreign investor in the country. Lukoil has so far
invested USD 8 billion in PSA implementa on. The company is engaged in the explora on, produc on as
well as processing of natural gas and gas products in Uzbekistan.
• Epsilon Development Company (USA) obtained licenses in 2019 for the prospec on and development ofﬁve investment blocks of oil and gas ﬁelds in Uzbekistan.

17

Energy2.3

Why invest in Uzbekistan's energy sector?
• Growing demand for electricity• Ongoing power genera on mix transforma on towards renewables (solar and wind)• Ongoing moderniza on of genera on, transmission and distribu on facili es and networks

The energy sector at a glance• Power produc on is set to increase 1.5 mes
between 2020 and 2025 in Uzbekistan. To
meet the growing demand for electricity, thegovernment has embarked on comprehensive
programs to boost power genera on capacityand modernize transmission and distribu onlines. It is es mated that domes c power
produc on will increase from 66.5 trillion Wh
in 2020 to 91.8 trillion Wh by 2025.
• Gas-ﬁred energy con nues to be the backbone of the country's power genera on mix.
Given Uzbekistan's large gas reserves, thermal
power plants accounted for 86% of total energy
genera on in 2021, while hydropower stood ataround 13%.
• Uzbekistan plans to transi on to a cleaner
energy mix. The Ministry of Energy of Uzbekis-• Investment opportuni es abound in energy
genera on, transmission and distribu on. The
Ministry of Energy has signed 16 powerpurchase agreements (PPAs) with various
private energy producers in recent years, torenovate and build solar, wind and thermal
power plants. The government intends toincrease solar plant capacity from virtually zeroin 2020 to 2.5 GW, and wind turbine capacity
to 2 GW, by 2025.
Future power genera on capacity mix, GW

91.8

91.8

90.9

90.0

87.2

84.1

81.5

78.7

74.9

71.3

69

66.5

64.8

63.5

Electricity produc on and consump on
in Uzbekistan, in TWh

tan has issued a concept note on ensuring
electricity supply for 2020–30, calling forsigniﬁcant changes in the domes c power
genera on mix. The share of natural gas andcoal in it is expected to decrease from 86% to68%, whereas that of renewable energy (solar
and wind) is expected to rise to 25% by 2025

2.2
1.6
2.5

0.1

3.1

2.1
2.5

14.0

11.7

2019

2020

2021

2022

produc on

2023

2024

consump on

Source: SCS (2022)

2025

2021
TPP (gas)2025
TPP (coal)

hydro

wind

solar

Source: Ministry of energy (2022)

Major foreign investors in the sector• ACWA Power (Saudi Arabia) is currently implemen ng three projects in Uzbekistan: two in renewableenergy (wind power) with a capacity of 1,100 MW, and one project involving a thermal power plant with acapacity of 1,500 MW. Their total es mated cost is 2.6 billion USD.
• Total Eren (France) runs a project involving a 100 MW solar power plant in the Samarkand region. The
company secured debt ﬁnancing from EIB, EBRD and Proparco for this project, totaling around 90 million
EUR.

18

Food processing

2.4.1

Why invest in Uzbekistan's food-processing sector?
• Vibrant sector for agro-food products• Ample and growing domes c market and access to neighboring markets• Increasing preference for quality and branded products among consumers

The food-processing sector at a glance• Food processing is expected to be one of thefastest-growing sectors in Uzbekistan. This
sector is growing rapidly thanks to abundantagricultural outputs (fruits, vegetables, livestock) to be used for processed food products.
It beneﬁts from a growing domes c market
with changing consumer preferences in termsof quality and branded products, as well as fromits proximity and access to large export markets
such as Russia and China.
• The government seeks to increase the manufacture and export of higher-value-added foodproducts. According to SCS, Uzbekistan
domes cally processes only 15% of fruits andvegetables and 16% of meat and milk from local
farmers each year. Moreover, 30% of suchdomes c raw fruits and vegetables produc on
is lost due to insuﬃcient storage and processing capacity. Investments in the produc onand export of higher-value-added foodproducts in the country are therefore highly
encouraged.
• Uzbekistan has a compara ve advantage infood produc on in the region, especially infruits and vegetables. Various opportuni es lie
in the produc on of so beverages and fruit
juice and canned and frozen foods; in theprocessing of fruits, vegetables, meat, and milk;
and in the establishment of trade logis cs andstorage centers. Demand is also on the rise for
packaging materials such as cardboard, paper,
aluminum foil, and stretch ﬁlm.

Market size, in trln UZS, SCS (2021)
55.1

60.0

49.8
50.0

42.4
36.7

40.0
30.0

47.8

33.4

29.2

25.3

20.0

13.4 13.7

15.9

12.8

16.7

19.1

21.2

8.9

10.0
0

Produc on

Export2018

Import20192020

Market size
(produc on + net import)
2021

Major foreign investors in the sector• Lactalis (France) purchased Nestlé Uzbekistan's dairy and water opera ons in 2019, which included two
factories in the Namangan region.
• Samfruit LLC, is one of Uzbekistan’s largest wholesale producers of dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs, wasestablished in 2002 as an Uzbek-Swiss joint-venture with New Product Interna onal (Switzerland) as the
majority owner.

19

2.4.2Tex le, leather and silk

Why invest in Uzbekistan's tex le sector?
• Abundance of raw materials for produc on (co on ﬁber, leather, silk)• Expanding market for the manufacture of value-added tex le exports

The tex le sector at a glance• Uzbekistan is shi ing towards higher-valueadded produc on in the tex le industry. this
sector of the Uzbek economy primarily consistsof the processing of co on ﬁber, leather andsilk into semi-ﬁnished and ﬁnished products.
The country has increased the propor on ofvalue-added ﬁnished products such as
knitwear, readymade garments and footwear
to about half of all its tex le exports.
• Co on products: More than 7,000 enterprises
in Uzbekistan are engaged in processing co on
into raw materials such as yarn and further into
fabric and clothing. Value-added products suchas fabrics, knitwear and garments have come toreplace raw materials as Uzbekistan's major
tex le exports. Russia, China and Turkey are
the main importers of Uzbek tex les. Foreign
investors have brought advanced experienceand technology into the manufacture oftex les and clothing in Uzbekistan.

• Leather products: Uzbekistan possesses a
signiﬁcant volume of quality leather, alongsidea rela vely inexpensive workforce. It includes
the manufacture of raw leather, leather goods
and footwear. According to Uzcharmsanoat
associa on, produc on increased considerably in 2019–21 (leather by 32% and footwear
ﬁvefold), as well as exports, especially to themajor markets of China, Turkey, Russia,
Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
• Silk products: According to Interna onal
Sericultural Commission, Uzbekistan is theworld's third-largest producer of raw silk andexports, a er China and India. In 2021,
Uzbekistan exported $87.5 million in silk andsilk products to 17 countries. Its main export
des na ons are China, Tajikistan, Iran,
Vietnam, India, Korea, and UAE.

Market size, in trln UZS, SCS (2021)
50

43.1
36.2

40

31.7
30

30.6

24.8

21.3 21.3

18.2

20

10.5

16.7

16.6

13.5

10

2.4

3.1

3.3

4.1

0

Produc on

Export2017

Import20182019Market size
(produc on + net import)

2020

Major foreign investors in the sector• Indorama Corpora on (Singapore) launched the joint venture Indorama Kokand Tex le in 2011 through its
Indonesian subsidiary. The company specializes in the produc on of co on yarn.
• Tarmak Group (Turkey) opened a co on mill in Tashkent through Osborn Tex le, LLC, in 2011. The
company specializes in the manufacture of yarn and co on fabric, as well as kni ed fabrics and terrycloth.

20

Chemicals

2.4.3

Why invest in Uzbekistan's chemical sector?
• Growing market for agrochemical products• Abundant raw materials for chemical products (natural gas, limestone, phosphates, etc.)• Ample opportuni es for exports to neighboring countries

The chemical sector at a glance• Produc on of chemicals in Uzbekistan
experienced signiﬁcant growth. The Uzbek
chemical sector primarily supplies farmers withfer lizers and other chemicals. It produces all
three types of fer lizers (N-nitrogen, Pphosphorus and K-potassium), as well as
methanol and caus c soda. The sector doubled
produc on output in the local currency terms
between 2017 and 2020
• Uzbekistan possesses abundant raw materials
for chemical industry. The government plans toa ract investments to build up capacity toprocess raw materials available in Uzbekistan
into higher-value-added goods. One of themost promising ﬁelds is in the petrochemicalindustry with the deep processing of naturalgas. The government plans to a ract 9 billion

USD and 50 projects in this area by 2025,
consis ng of 15 projects in inorganic
chemistry, 23 in organic chemistry, and 12 inpolymer produc on.
• Investment opportuni es abound to produce
both fer lizer and non-fer lizer chemicals.
The produc on of fer lizer (nitrogen, phosphorus, potash) and non-fer lizer chemicals(plas c, rubber, detergents), can be transioned into the manufacture of inorganic
products such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN),
acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plas c,and miscellaneous chemical products such aspolystyrene, reagents, catalysts, and addi ves
for the metallurgical, oil and gas, and tex leindustries.

Market size, in trln UZS, SCS (2021)
35.0

30.6

31.8

30.0
25.0

21.2
19.0

20.0
15.0

17.1

15.1

12.1

11.6

9.9

10.0

3.6

5.0

5.4

5.4

8.2

21.3

18.8

5.7

0

Produc on

Export2017

Import20182019Market size
(produc on + net import)

2020

Major foreign investors in the sector• Maxam Corp S.A.U (Spain) acquired a 49% stake in a state-owned company - Elektrkimyosanoat for 22
million USD in 2007, renaming the company JSC Maxam-Chirchiq. Maxam-Chirchiq specializes in the
produc on of more than 40 types of mineral fer lizers and chemical products• NCV Interna onal (UAE) acquired 51% of shares in the JV LLC “Kungrad Soda Plant” in 2020 for 25 million
USD. Kungrad Soda Plant is the only soda ash producer in Central Asia.

21

Pharmaceu cals

2.4.4

Why invest in Uzbekistan's pharmaceu cal sector?
• Ample domes c market and opportuni es for pharmaceu cal import subs tu on• Signiﬁcant incen ves for pharmaceu cal FEZ tenants

The pharmaceu cal sector at a glance• The Uzbek pharmaceu cal sector is one of thelargest and fastest-growing markets in CIS.
The sector consists of the development,
produc on, and marke ng of pharmaceu cal
products for medica ons. It was worth around
1.3 billion USD in 2020, making Uzbekistan thethird-largest pharmaceu cal market in the CIS(a er Russia and Ukraine), and one of theregion's fastest-growing markets.
• Uzbekistan heavily relies on imported
medicines. Local manufacturing currently
covers less than 20% of domes c pharmaceu cal needs. To address this deﬁcit, thegovernment adopted the “Development
Concept of the Pharmaceu cal Industry for
2020–24.” The concept calls for the implemen-ta on of good manufacturing prac ces (GMP)and good vigilance prac ces (GVP), among
other measures, to increase the quality ofpharmaceu cal products. These objec ves
require drawing from interna onal exper seand partnering with foreign investors.
• Six pharmaceu cal free economic zones havebeen established. Besides the regular FEZ tax
and customs incen ves, pharmaceu cal FEZ
tenants beneﬁt from using land plots tocul vate medicinal herbs and from lower fees
for the removal of wild plants employed inpharmaceu cal produc on (for loca ons ofpharmaceu cal FEZs, please refer to Sec on
1.7).

Market size, in trln UZS, SCS (2021)
15.0

13.8
11.6
10.0

10.0

8.2

8.2

6.9
5.6
4.2

5.0

1.4

1.4

1.9

2.4
0.0

0.1

0.1

0.2

0

Produc on

Export20172018

Import20192020

Market size
(produc on + net import)

Major foreign investors in the sector• Nobel Pharmaceu cals (Turkey) has been opera ng in Uzbekistan since 2002 and has one of the threemajor pharmaceu cal produc on facili es of the company in the world in Uzbekistan.
• Samarkand England Eco-Medical, a joint venture between Helbron System (UK) and Vostorg Elita Lux(Uzbekistan) was established in 2015. The Bri sh-Uzbek venture has produced infusion solu ons, tablets,and capsules in Samarkand.

22

Construc on materials

2.4.5

Why invest in Uzbekistan's construc on-material sector?
• Domes c and regional construc on boom in recent years• Abundant natural resources for construc on materials such as limestone

The construc on-material sector at a glance• Cement produc on cons tutes the largest
por on of the sector due to the abundance of
limestone. Produc on in this sector can be
broken down as follows, according to
Uzbuildingmaterials Associa on: cement(86.3%), special building materials (12.0%),
non-ore materials (0.8%), wall materials (0.5%),and other materials (0.4%). Uzbekistan houses
19 cement plants, with a total capacity of 11
million tons per year.
• This domes c sector and related exports toneighboring countries have been growing. The
sector is expanding rapidly, with produc on
increasing around threefold in the local
currency terms between 2017 and 2020.
Uzbekistan has experienced a construc onboom in recent years, alongside a boom inbuilding materials for domes c consump on as

well as for export to neighboring countries. Its
main export markets are Kazakhstan (e.g.,ceramic les, quicklime, drywall, heat-insulang glass wool/ﬁberglass); Kyrgyzstan (e.g.,ceramic les, decora ve glass, quicklime);
Turkmenistan (e.g., drywall, gypsum, linoleum,
varnish); and Afghanistan (e.g., drywall, plaster).
• More diversiﬁed construc on material produc on will bring new business opportuni es
for investors. Local manufacturing does notcover all domes c needs (e.g., 74.8% of cement
produc on, 50.6% of glass, and 33% of sanitary
products, with the rest being covered byimports). Major investment opportuni es inthe sector include manufacturing of limestonebased paper, porcelain stoneware, linoleum,and foam sealants.

Market size, in trln UZS, Uzbuildingmaterials Associa on (2021)
30.0

24.1

25.0

22.0

20.0

12.7

13.0

15.0
10.0

20.4

16.8

9.0

8.1
4.8

5.0

0.4

0.7

1.2

2.6

1.3

4.7

0.4

0

Produc on

Export2017

Import
2018

2019

2020

Market size
(produc on + net import)

Major foreign investors in the sector• KNAUF (Germany), a leading gypsum products manufacturer in Uzbekistan, accoun ng for 70% of thelocal gypsum wallboard market.
• Anhui Conch Cement (China) established Qarshi Conch Cement in Kashkadarya region, with an annual
produc on capacity of 1.2 million tons of portland cement.

23

2.5

ICT

Why invest in Uzbekistan's ICT sector?
• Rapidly growing sector and mobile and internet user base
• Strong government support for IT Park tenants• Increasing number of graduates specializing in computer programming

The ICT sector at a glance• The Uzbek ICT (Informa on and Communicaon Technologies) sector has been rapidly
evolving and transforming. Between 2016 and2020, the sector's output grew rapidly, withcomputer programming and IT services
exhibi ng the highest growth rate.
• Six mobile network providers shared the
Uzbek telecommunica ons market in 2020.
These were Ucell (32%), partly owned by
Russia's USM Telecom; Beeline (28%), ownedby the Netherlands' VEON Group; Uzmobile(23%); Mobiuz (15%), Perfectum Mobile (1%);
and Humans (0.5%).
• The “Digital Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy” hasbeen adopted to further digitalize theeconomy. The strategy, approved in October
2020, envisions transforma on into a digital
economy through development and innovaons in the country's digital infrastructure, egovernment, human capital, and security
systems.
Market size of ICT, in trln UZS.

• The IT Park provides enabling environment
and incen ves for IT companies. The IT Parkwas created in Tashkent in 2019 to primarily
assist IT startups in gaining market access. The
IT Park oﬀers a complex of facili es andbuildings with investment incen ves fortenants. Ten branches are currently open in
Tashkent, Andijan, Margilan, Navoi, Bukhara,
Samarkand, Jizzakh, Urgench, Nukus andGulistan, and another three will be launched in
Namangan, Karshi and Termez. As of January
1st, 2022, 523 companies, including 18 foreign
investors, joined the IT Park. The following are
key incen ves available for its tenants (un l2028):• 0% corporate income tax• 7.5% personal income tax• 0% uniﬁed social payments• Import customs exemp ons

ICT markets by type of services
13,852

10,333

5.4%

4.7% 0.6%
Telecommunica ons

5.1%

10,892Computer programming

8,197
10.3%

6,307

Informa on technology
Publishing

73.9%

2016

2017

2018

2019

Broacas ng
Others2020

Source: SCS (2021)

Major foreign investors in the sector• VEON (Netherlands) has provided mobile communica on services under the Beeline brand since 2006.
VEON has invested more than 1.2 billion USD in the Uzbek telecom industry since its entry.
• ZTE (China) has produced DSLAM equipment and ADSL modems in the Navoi FEZ, in partnership with
Uzbektelecom, since 2011.

24

2.6

Finance

Why invest in Uzbekistan's ﬁnance sector?
• Ongoing priva za on of state-owned banks• Strong growth of banking assets• Large untapped demand for new ﬁnancial services and ﬁntech solu ons

The ﬁnancial sector at a glance• Financial sector assets are rapidly increasing in
Uzbekistan. The total assets of ﬁnancial
ins tu ons in the country (i.e., commercial
banks, insurance companies, leasing companies, microﬁnance ins tu ons (MFIs), andpawnshops) amounted to 429 trillion UZS(around 39.6 billion USD) as of January 1st,2022, having increased more than twofold
since 2018.
• The government's priva za on eﬀorts havepriori zed the ﬁnance sector. Large stateowned banks (SoBs) - Uzsanoatqurilishbank(SQB) and Ipotekabank are currently going
through the priva za on process. The
government aims to bring private banks' asset
shares from the 15% recorded in 2020 to 60%,
and their deposit shares from 28% to 70% by
2025.
• In banking, among all ﬁnancial service
providers, commercial banks account for 99%
of all assets. Out of 33 commercial banks, 12banks are either fully or par ally owned by thestate. SoBs hold 82% of assets and 67% of
Banking asset volume, in trln UZS
500

deposits. Private banks account for approximately 18% of total assets while holding 33% of
deposits in the Uzbek banking system. MFIs
and pawnshops are generally small, holding lessthan 1% of the sector's assets na onwide.
• In terms of insurance, the Uzbek market
remains rela vely small, with gross wri en
premiums totaling 2.6 trillion UZS (240 million
USD). As of January 1st, 2022, 41 insurancecompanies operated in the market, with 33 ingeneral insurance and 8 in life insurance.
Foreign companies can par cipate in this
sector by engaging in joint ventures with local
companies.
• In the leasing market, 47 leasing companies
operated in Uzbekistan as of January 1st, 2022.
The primary drivers are the agricultural andconstruc on sectors, due to their machine andvehicle imports. The lessors are mainlycommercial banks and other commercial
ins tu ons involved in impor ng machineryand technological equipment.
Shares of banking assets
MFIs + Pawnshops
0.3%

1.4

400
300
200

0.4
34.9

100

172.7

1.0
53.7

0.8
41.7
259.8

296.7

77.4

Private
banks
18.1%

349.9
State-owned
banks
81.6%

0

2018
State-owned banks

2019

2020
Private banks

Major foreign investors in the sector

2021
MFIs + pawnshops
Source: CBU (2022)• Korea Development Bank (South Korea) is the largest foreign investor in the Uzbek banking sector, owning
86.32% of shares in the JSC KDB Bank Uzbekistan.
• TBC Bank (Georgia) in April 2019 acquired Payme, a leading electronic payment service provider, for 5.5
million USD, and opened its Tashkent branch a year later as the ﬁrst digital bank in Uzbekistan.

25

Educa on

2.7

Why invest in Uzbekistan's educa on sector?
• Increasing enrollment rates for preschools and higher-educa on ins tu ons• Growing demand for foreign universi es• Strong government support with incen ves and PPP

The educa on sector at a glance• The Uzbek government has priori zed this
sector's development. Uzbekistan has
historically allocated the largest share of thestate budget to the educa on sector. It
accounted for 4.9% of the country's GDP in
2020, being recognized as the key driver for
long-term economic development.
• Preschool and higher-educa on enrollment
has increased signiﬁcantly. The governmenthas been modernizing all levels of theeduca on system by improving its capacity
and infrastructure, especially at thepreschool and higher-educa on levels. It
plans to increase the enrollment rate in theformer from 50% in 2020 to 80% by 2026,
and in the la er from 25% to 50%.
• Key investment opportuni es include:
Number of higher educa onal ins tu ons
and private foreign educa onal ins tu ons• Preschool educa on: construc on andmanagement of preschools, including
through PPPs
• Secondary educa on: implementa on of newenergy-eﬃcient schools and modern
equipment in all secondary schools via PPPs
• Higher educa on: establishment of the 30
addi onal universi es foreseen as needed toachieve the target 50% enrollment by 2026,
with high demand for foreign technical andengineering universi es• Interna onal investors can enjoy comprehensive incen ves in this sector. The
government oﬀers a number of tax
incen ves, as well as land and pre-exis ng
facili es for interna onal investors, including concessions through PPP agreements.
Enrollment in higher educa on
100 000

132

120

80 000101
82

60 00040 000

27

2018

number of private foreign
educa onal ins tu ons

2019

2020
higher educa onal
ins tu ons

Major foreign investors in the sector
Foreign investors can par cipate in the establishment of local universi es in a variety of ways
including franchising, establishing fully func onal
branches, or establishing universi es through a
joint venture. The following are the largest andbest-known foreign universi es established in
Uzbekistan:26

54,936

9,178

11,487

15,857

18,666

2017

2018

2019

2020

20 0000

201758,83833

11

7

65,23958,210No. of enrollment in local university
No. of enrollment in foreign university

Source: SCS (2021)• Westminster Interna onal University (UK);• Turin Polytechnic University (Italy);• Ma n a ge m e nt Deve l o p m e nt In s t u t e ofSingapore;• Inha University (South Korea)• Webster University (US)• Japan Digital University

2.8

Healthcare

Why invest in Uzbekistan's healthcare sector?
•••

Evolving demand for private healthcare services
Strong government support and sector-related incen ves and PPPs
Improving life expectancy and rising demand for quality diagnos cs

The healthcare sector at a glance
medical diagnos cs, tes ng, pharmaceu cals,
and outpa ent care services.

• The Uzbek government has been focusing onreforming and modernizing the sector.
Government healthcare spending reached3.6% of the country's GDP in 2019. Rapid
economic development and popula on
growth—along with rising urbaniza on, percapita incomes and overall regional development—have been driving demand for quality
healthcare services.

• PPPs are being encouraged to a ract foreign
investors to the sector. The government
welcomes private-sector engagement and
PPPs, especially in the early detec on andtreatment of oncological diseases and in theconstruc on and management of mul funconal hospitals.

• Demand for private healthcare services has
also been on the rise. The increasing mortality
rate from cardiovascular diseases, cancer anddiabetes, already the leading causes of death in
Uzbekistan, is of major concern. Private
healthcare providers hold a small share of themarket vis-à-vis the government, although this
propor on has been changing in recent years.
The former tends to be more ac ve in providing• Various incen ves are available for medical
ins tu ons. Incen ves for ins tu ons
entering the Uzbek healthcare sector include
0% CIT on medical service proﬁts (except forcosmetology and stomatology) comprising at
l e a s t 9 0 % of t h e i r t ot a l i n co m e ; a n d
exemp ons from VAT, property taxes, as well as
customs du es for medical services andequipment.

Government spending in healthcare

Number of medical ins tu ons
20%

30 000

20 000

10 000

14,4%

12,5%

5 955

12,7%
21 047,8

2,9%

3,6%

3,1%

2018

2019

2020

0

Government healthcare expenditure, in bln UZSShare in GDP
Share in Government budget

Source: UNDP (2021)

6 107

6 792

7 160

7 264

2018

2019

2020

5 000

14 781,6

0

5 402

4 670

10%

20 752,910 000

15 0000

PublicPrivateSource: SCS (2021)

Major foreign investors in the sector• NephroPlus (India), the largest dialysis and kidney care company in India, signed the ﬁrst major PPP
agreement for the delivery of dialysis services in Uzbekistan in 2021.
• Himchan Hospital (South Korea), a well-known ins tu on for joint and spinal treatments, opened a private
medical ins tu on in Bukhara in 2019.

27

INVESTMENT GUIDE UZBEKISTAN

3

Establishing andrunning a company

3.1. Establishing a company
3.2. Public-private partnerships
3.3. Priva za on3.1

Establishing a company

Laws and regula ons
The main legisla on governing companies' establishment and opera ons in Uzbekistan includes thefollowing:• Law on Joint Stock Companies and Protec on of Shareholder Rights• Law on Limited and Addi onal Liability Companies• Resolu on of the Cabinet of Ministers on State Registra on of Business En es• Resolu on of the Cabinet of Ministers on Procedures for the Accredita on and Opera on of theRepresenta ve Oﬃces of Foreign Commercial Organiza ons in Uzbekistan

Overview on the forms of corporate presence
Foreign companies can carry out entrepreneurial
ac vi es in Uzbekistan by establishing an Uzbek
legal en ty or through other forms of presence,such as permanent establishment (PE) andrepresenta ve oﬃce (RepOﬃce).
Foreign investors in Uzbekistan most commonly
form joint stock companies (JSCs) or limited
liability companies (LLCs).
JSCs

Accordingly, in contrast to a JSC, shares in an LLC
are not securi es and rather represent suchpar cipatory interests (deﬁned as percentages).
The LLC legal en ty is a more prac cal op on
administra vely than a JSC, being subject to lessstringent requirements in rela on to corporate
management and company ac vi es. As of July
2020, LLCs can issue corporate bonds in thestock exchange in Uzbekistan, but far fewer LLCs
than JSCs have done so to date.

The JSC is a commercial legal en ty whose capitalis divided into a certain number of shares, and inwhich shareholders' ownership rights arecer ﬁed. These shares may be listed on the
Uzbek stock exchange and freely traded. JSCs aremostly en es such as ﬁnancial ins tu ons(banks, insurance companies), major manufacturers, and state-owned enterprises. They arecharacterized by more complex governance andadministra ve procedures as well as by heavier
regula on from capital market authori es thanother forms of legal en es.

PE is not considered a separate legal en ty, only
represen ng the tax status of the foreign legal
en ty (i.e., tax registra on in Uzbekistan). The PE
structure is usually employed for one-oﬀ projectsof a service nature (e.g., oil industry services, EPC
projects, consul ng). One of the disadvantages ofa PE is that it cannot apply for a license if one isrequired for a speciﬁc ac vity. To register a PE,
the company submits the required document
packet to the relevant district tax authority.

LLCs

RepOﬃce

The LLC is one of the most popular andconvenient forms of incorpora on in Uzbekistan.
Most enterprises with foreign investments in the
country have been established as LLCs. Liability islimited to the extent of a company's assets, andmembers' vo ng rights are propor onal to their
par cipatory interests in the LLC's charter fund.

The RepOﬃce is a subdivision of a foreigncompany which represents and defends theinterests of a legal en ty in the home country. It is
not a legal en ty itself and cannot carry out
commercial ac vi es. Companies must apply for
RepOﬃce incorpora on with the Ministry of
Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan.

30

PERegistra on of the company in Uzbekistan
A new business en ty, except for banks and credit ins tu ons, can be registered, regardless of its
organiza onal form, via the Agency of Public Services under the Ministry of Jus ce of Uzbekistan. This can bedone either oﬄine through a local Center of Public Services (CPS) or online through the Single Portal of PublicServices. Since online registra on requires an electronic signature (e-signature) from the applicant, issued in
Uzbekistan, those without one should apply oﬄine (in person or via a representa ve).
The procedure for establishing a company consists of the following steps:• Pre-registra on: prepara on of the cons tuent documents for the future company, iden ﬁca on offounders, legaliza on of the power of a orney etc. This generally takes between one and two months.
• State registra on: submission of the cons tuent documents and registra on of the company with therelevant state authori es. This process can be completed within one business day.
• Post-registra on: registra on with tax authori es, opening a bank account, etc. These administra ve steps
usually take one week. If the company's ac vi es require further licenses or approvals from the stateauthori es, the post-registra on period may take longer, from two to six months, depending on the
documents and permissions required.

I. Preliminary ac ons

Determine the form of the
future legal en ty– JSC, LLC, etc.

Prepare cons tuent documents and indicate themain type ac vity of thecompany– Prepare a charter (similar to ar cles of associa on)– Prepare a founda on agreement, if applicable (similar to shareholders
agreement)– Select the type of company ac vity according to the Oﬃcial StateClassiﬁer of Economic Ac vi es of Uzbekistan

Appoint a director for thecompany

Shareholders/par cipants appoint a person to run the company

Secure the company's corporate name and legal
address– Reserve corporate name via link.
– Determine legal address by having own building or plant or a leaseagreement

Select a servicing bank

Select a bank where the company will open its main accountII. State registra on

Prepare the document
packet

The applicant should submit all required documents for state registra on.

S u b m i t i n c o r p o ra o ndocuments to the CPS

The company is incorporated either at the CPS in person, or online via theSingle Portal of Public Services.

Obtain the cer ﬁcate ofstate registra on

The authority issues the registra on cer ﬁcate along with the founda on
documents within one business day.

31

III. Post-registra on procedure

Administra ve
ac vi esWithin 10 business days of registering with the state, the company should– order a corporate stamp,– open a bank account, and– ﬁle the tax registra on form with the local tax authori es.

Licensing/permits

A company wishing to engage in licensed ac vi es must ﬁrst obtain thenecessary approval from state authori es. These requirements and applica on
instruc ons can be found at link.

Cer ﬁca on

Some goods and services, produced or imported in Uzbekistan, are subject tomandatory cer ﬁca on (issuance of conformity cer ﬁcates by the responsible
state bodies). The list of products for which cer ﬁca on is compulsory is
updated o en. The current list can be found at link.

Environmental
assessments

Entrepreneurship ac vi es that could harm or threaten the environment are
subject to environmental clearance. The 143 types of items and ac vi es whichcurrently require environmental clearance can be found via this link.

Land acquisi on

Non-agricultural land plots for entrepreneurial and urban development
ac vi es in most cases must be obtained via an online auc on on the
E-AUKSION pla orm.

IP rights’ registra on

The applica on for IP rights' registra on must be ﬁled with the IP Agency.
Please refer to Sec on 5.2 (IP rights) for more details.

32

3.2

Public-private partnership

Overview

Government ins tu ons in charge

The Government of Uzbekistan has ac vely
implemented public-private partnership (PPP)
projects in many sectors of the economy since itenacted the Law on Public-Private Partnerships in
2019, with the goal of mobilizing FDI throughstreamlined and transparent tender processes anddocumenta on. The government promotes PPPs
for many reasons, including access to foreign
ﬁnancing and world-class technologies and thepossibility to draw from interna onally-acclaimed
prac ces and exper se to address pressing social
problems. PPP projects beneﬁt both the private andpublic en es involved by genera ng long-term
proﬁts, allowing for risk-sharing among partners,
and ensuring the eﬃcient opera on of public
facili es.

Public-Private Partnership Development Agency(PPPDA) under the Ministry of Finance

The PPP Development Agency (PPPDA) maintains adetailed public register of all PPP projects
implemented in Uzbekistan, which can be found at
h ps://pppda.uz/en/projects-custom.

Laws and regula ons
The PPP ﬁeld in Uzbekistan is primarily governedby the following laws and regula ons:
• Law on Public-Private Partnerships• Resolu on of the Cabinet of Ministries on
Improving the Procedures for Implemen ng PPP
Projects

The PPPDA was established in October 2018. It is
responsible for determining uniﬁed PPP policies;
reviewing projects; approving tender documents
and PPP agreements; and assis ng ministries,
agencies, and local public authori es in implemenng PPP programs. The agency also works withinvestors, interna onal ﬁnancial and donororganiza ons, scien ﬁc and expert communi es,
and other market stakeholders on PPP development
issues, while protec ng the rights and legal interestsof PPP project partners.
Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade ofUzbekistan (MIFT)
The MIFT implements uniﬁed state investment
policies and promotes investment. Some of its major
func ons with respect to PPPs include ini a ng,
procuring and promo ng projects, as well as
establishing agreements among the government,
investors and Interna onal Financial Ins tu ons(IFIs).
Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan (CM)The CM is the state body which ensures theimplementa on of uniﬁed state policies in the PPP
ﬁeld and approves concepts for PPP projects worth
more than 10 million USD.
Ministries, agencies and legal enes

The CM may authorize a speciﬁc government en ty(e.g., Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Public Health) or
another organiza on to act as a public partner in a
PPP project on behalf of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

PPP project cycle
Under Ar cle 15 of the PPP Law, a PPP project may be ini ated by:• Public Partner (i.e., solicited project), or• Private Partner (i.e., unsolicited project)
The basic procedures for the implementa on of both solicited and unsolicited PPP projects can be foundbelow.

33

STEP IPPP Project ini a on
A private or public partner ﬁrst develops a concept paper on the PPP project as well as afeasibility document packet, then approaches the responsible state authority for approval.
Depending on its value, the PPP project may go through several stages of approval, star ng
from simple adop on by the public partner up to ﬁnal approval by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Depending on the project value, the following approval grada on is applicable:• < 1 million USD: approval by the public partner• 1–10 million USD: approval by both the public partner and PPPDA• > 10 million USD: the public partner and PPPDA acknowledge the PPP project for approvalby the Cabinet of Ministers

STEP II

Selec onThe public partner selects the private partner on tender. The tender is done in one or twostages.
(Criteria for a single stage tender)• The project value amounts to USD 1 mln or below, and/or• The private partner acts as an ini ator (unsolicited project). If the public partner approves theconcept paper the private partner submi ed, the project proposal is put out for tender.
Request for expression of interest should be posted on the website of the public partner and
PPPDA for 45 days (see h ps://pppda.uz/en/). If no one declares interest during the speciﬁed
period, the public partner may enter into a direct agreement with the private partner.
(Criteria for a two-stage tender)• The project value exceeds USD 1 mln, and/or• The public partner acts as the ini ator (solicited project). The tender commission, comprisedof representa ves from state authori es (e.g., public partner, Ministry of Finance,
An monopoly Commi ee, PPPDA) determines the winning bid.

STEP III

Conclusion of the PPP agreement
The PPP agreement between the public partner and private partner is ﬁnalized.

Recent project development with foreign investors
Various major PPP projects were recently implemented in Uzbekistan, focusing on renewable energy
facili es, healthcare system improvements, rural area development, etc. The following are among the mostnotable:• The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar (UAE) was selected during the ﬁrst open tender in2019 to build a 100 MW photovoltaic (solar) power plant in the Navoi region. The investment totals around
100 million USD. The World Bank Group's Interna onal Finance Corpora on assisted in the tender
process, under its Scaling Solar program.
• NephroPlus (India) was chosen during a tender in 2021 to build four new clinics, inves ng 9.7 million USD.
The facili es will follow the best interna onal standards in providing dialysis services in Tashkent,
Karakalpakstan and Khorezm.
• A consor um among EDF (France), Nebras Power (Qatar) and Sojitz Corpora on (Japan) was the winningbidder in a tender in 2021 to build a 1,600 MW combined cycle gas turbine power plant (CCGT) in the
Syrdarya region. The project is expected to a ract 1.2 billion USD in investments.

34

3.3

Priva za on

General overview
The government's priva za on eﬀorts wererevitalized with the establishment of the State AssetManagement Agency of Uzbekistan (UzSAMA) in
2019. The agency oversees state-owned enterprises (SoEs) and manages their transforma onprocess.
In 2020, Uzbekistan unveiled a program calling forthe full or par al priva za on of 627 SoEs. This
included 32 large SoEs such as the gold and uranium
mining company Navoi MMC, oil and gas company
Uzbekne egaz, Uzbekistan Airways, Uzbekistan
Railways, and major state-owned banks.
The government aims to reduce the number of SoEs
by 75% by 2025, envisioning the stock lis ng of atleast 20 SoEs. It also intends to liquidate 477
inac ve and unproﬁtable enterprises with state
par cipa on. The transforma on process con nues
with the planned adop on of interna onal
standards and prac ces of corporate governance inSoEs, in partnership with interna onal ﬁnancial
ins tu ons and foreign experts.
Informa on on the list of SoEs to be poten ally
priva zed can be found below:• UzSAMA updates the list of SoEs and public
proper es which are up for priva za on annually.
Its website provides useful details such as thesizes of shares/par cipatory interests to be sold,and loca ons (h ps://davak v.uz/en/priva za on).
• The list of SoEs to be publicly traded in a stock
exchange from 2022 to 2023 can be found in the
Appendix 1. (UzSAMA may change the SoEs
included on this list upon consulta on with theState Tender Commission when selling state
assets.)Laws and regula ons
The following are among the main laws andregula ons governing the priva za on process in
Uzbekistan. Also, the Law on Priva za on, which
determines the protec on and provision of therights and legi mate interests of the priva za on ofstate assets and other public property objects will be
adopted this year:• Law on Dena onaliza on and Priva za on• Presiden al Decree on Measures to Accelerate
the Reforma on of Enterprises with StatePar cipa on and the Priva za on of State Assets• Presiden al Decree on Measures to Further
Accelerate the Priva za on of State Assets• Strategy for the Management and Reform ofState-Owned Enterprises for 2021-2025• Strategy for the Reform of the Banking System of
Uzbekistan for 2020-2025

Government ins tu on in charge
UzSAMAUzSAMA is the primary state body responsible for
implemen ng a single state policy in the ﬁeld ofeﬀec ve management of state assets. Among othertasks, UzSAMA is authorized to exercise the rightsof state shares of SoEs as a shareholder; introduce
modern methods and forms of corporate
governance in SoEs; organize measures forpriva za on to a ract investment through auc on,compe on or ini al or secondary public oﬀerings(“IPO/SPO”) on domes c and foreign stock
exchanges; ensure an open and transparent
mechanism for the priva za on of state assets; andmonitor investors' compliance with investment
obliga ons and social commitments.
Capital Market Development Department of the
Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan
The Ministry of Finance's Capital Market
Development Department performs a number offunc ons in the area of regula ng the ac vi es of
securi es market par cipants; and establishingrequirements for the issuance and registra on of
securi es and repor ng, as well as the maintenanceof securi es owner and transac on registers.

35

Priva za on process
The priva za on process of SoEs in Uzbekistan consists of two stages:
1. SoE ins tu onal transforma on: This stage envisages SoEs' transforma on into LLCs or JSCs, transi on
towards interna onal ﬁnancial repor ng standards (IFRS), obtainment of interna onal credit ra ngs,
development of an appropriate priva za on strategy which covers ﬁnancial projec ons and opera onal
reorganiza on, etc.
2. SoE sale: Upon transforma on, the sale of SoE assets is carried out through one of the following:• An auc on or compe
organiza on.

on is managed and organized by UzSAMA or jointly with a specialized private• An ini al public oﬀer (IPO) or secondary public oﬀer (SPO) is placed in the stock exchange.
Auc on and compeon procedures

UzSAMA, as the state assets' seller, determines the type of priva za on procedure (i.e., auc on orcompe on) based on the nature of the asset to be priva zed. For example, while state-owned shares in JSCs
can only be sold through compe on with speciﬁc selec on criteria of bidders, shares in the LLC's charter
capital and real estate objects can be sold through either auc on or compe on. More detailed informa onon the types of bids and requirements for par cipants are published on the UzSAMA website, E-AUKSION
pla orm, RSE Toshkent website, the newspaper Birja, periodicals of the Council of Ministers of the Republicof Karakalpakstan, the regional authori es (khokimiyats) and Tashkent.
Both auc on and compe on may be held online through the E-AUKSION pla orm. A sale and purchaseagreement is then conducted with the winner of the auc on or compe on.
Public oﬀering
The sale of state shares through IPO/SPO is a rela vely recent development as part of the priva za on
program. The public oﬀering of state shares can be posted via the following:• The local Republican Stock Exchange (RSE) Toshkent: The local lis ng is conducted in accordance withna onal legisla on. The roadmap for each company's IPO/SPO process must be approved by the Cabinetof Ministers.
• Interna onal foreign exchanges: This is regulated according to foreign stock exchange rules and applicableforeign laws. From January 1st, 2023, domes c issuers will be able to oﬀer their shares in foreign stock
markets only a er a preliminary lis ng in the na onal stock exchange.
To make capital market informa on more accessible to all investors, and to integrate with interna onalﬁnancial markets, the Capital Market Development Program for 2021–23 calls for the development of anelectronic database on the oﬃcial RSE Toshkent website. It is to provide public informa on on share issuer
names, types of shares, dividends, etc.

Recent project development with foreign investors• Coca-Cola İçecek (Turkey) acquired 57.118% of state shares in Coca-Cola Bo lers Uzbekistan for 252.3
million USD in 2021.
• OTP Bank (Hungary) signed an agreement to purchase 75% of state shares in the Ipoteka Bank in October
2021. The transac on is to be ﬁnalized in 2022.
• UzSAMA published a no ce on the sale of state-owned shares in the Fargonaazot JSC, one of the major
fer lizer producers in the country. The shares to be sold correspond to 99.02% of the charter capital. The
Interna onal Finance Corpora on of the World Bank Group acts as a strategic advisor to UzSAMA,
assis ng in the sale of its shares.

36

INVESTMENT GUIDE UZBEKISTAN

4Tax, customs
and accounting

4.1. Tax regime
4.2. Custom regula ons
4.3. Tax and customs incen ves
4.4. Accoun ng and audit requirements

4.1

Tax regime

The government began overhauling the taxa on system in 2018 to improve the country's investment
climate. The reforms aim to modernize tax legisla on, reduce overall tax burdens, and enhance tax
administra on. A new edi on of the Tax Code came into eﬀect on January 1 , 2020, following a nearly
two-year eﬀort from regulatory authori es in coopera on with business and expert communi es.
Below is an overview of the taxes payable under the standard tax regime.
Type of tax
payment

Taxpayers

Taxable base

Corporateincome tax

Uzbek legal en es opera ng
under the standard tax regime
and PEs of foreign legal en es

Taxable proﬁt calculated as adiﬀerence between grossrevenue and deduc ble
expenses• Uzbek legal en
Value added
tax

Rate
• General rate: 15%• Proﬁt from the sale of goods andservices for export: 0%(provided that the share of exports ismore than 15%)es

• PEs of foreign legal en
Uzbekistan

es in• Foreign legal en es providing
e-services (if place of supply isdetermined to be in Uzbekistan)

Turnover from supply of goods
and services, import of goods
and services• General rate – 15% (reduc on to 12%
is expected in 2023)• Export of goods -0%

Excise tax

Legal en es producing, sellingor impor ng excisable goods

Either volume of excisable
goods in kind or value of
excisable goods sold

Personal
income tax(withheld by
tax agents (e.g.
employers))

Individuals earning taxable
income:1) Residents of Uzbekistan
earning within the country andabroad2) Non-residents of Uzbekistan
earning within the country

Employment income ofindividuals, as well as dividends,
interest, royalty incomes, andcapital gains

Social tax

Uzbek legal en es, PEs offoreign legal en es

Employment income paid to
employees• General rate – 12%

Property tax

Uzbek and foreign legal en es
with taxable immovable propertyin Uzbekistan

Average annual net book valueof immovable property• General rate: 1.5%

Land tax

Legal en es, including nonresidents, owning, or ren ng landplots

Total area of a land plot

Rates variable, depending on loca on,
type and quality of land, etc.

Water use tax

Uzbek legal en es, PEs offoreign legal en es

Volume of consumed water

Rates variable depending on type ofgoods• General: 12%• Dividend and interest income:5% (residents)
10%(non-residents)• General: 240 UZS - for 1 cubic meterfrom surface sources, 290 UZS - for 1
cubic meter from undergroundsources• Rates vary depending on type ofac vity and type of water source.

Withholdingtax (for tax
non-residents)

38

Foreign legal en es receiving
income from Uzbekistan without
crea ng a PE in Uzbekistan

Gross amount of Uzbek-sourced
income paid to non-residents,
including dividends, interest,
royal es, capital gains, andbusiness income• Dividends, interest: 10%• Insurance premiums: 10%• Telecommunica ons, transporta on:
6%• Other (royal es, rent, etc.): 20%

4.2

Custom regula ons

Customs regula ons are based on the general principles and rules established by Ar cle VII of theGeneral Agreement on Tariﬀs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994), the Agreement on the Applica on of Ar cle
VII of GATT 1994, and customs regimes from the Kyoto Agreement on the Facilita on andHarmoniza on of Customs Procedures 2008.
According to the customs code, the following customs payments may be levied on the import of goods
into Uzbekistan:Type of payment

Rate

Customs duty

5% - 70% (depending on the type of goods), unless eligible for exemp on

Excise tax

Rates variable depending on the type of goods imported

Other fees, including customs
clearance fees

1 - 75 BCU, depending on the customs value of goods

VAT

15%⁴, unless eligible for exemp on

The export of goods is not generally subject to customs du es or to VAT.

Trade beneﬁts under interna onal agreements
CIS Free Trade Zone Agreement (FTZA) and free trade
regime countries

customs du es at a standard rate, regardless of thecountry of departure or the exporter.

Goods imported from the CIS FTZA coun es(Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine) andcountries that have a free trade regime with
Uzbekistan (Azerbaijan and Georgia) are not subject
to customs du es.

• The import of goods that do not fall under theabove criterion is subject to customs du es at a
doubled rate (unless eligible for customs duty
exemp ons).

Most-favored-na on (MFN) regime• The import of goods from countries that have an
MFN regime with Uzbekistan (please refer toAppendix 2 for a list of countries) is subject to

⁴ Value added tax (VAT) rate will be 12% from January 1, 2023.

EU GSP+
Uzbekistan was accepted as a beneﬁciary of thespecial incen ve arrangement under GSP+ in 2021.
Under this incen ves scheme, Uzbekistan is en tled
to exemp on from customs duty on export of over
6,200 commodity items to EU countries.

39

4.3

Tax and customs incen ves

The provision of tax incen ves is generally regulated in the new Tax Code.
Below is an overview of the tax and customs incen ves outlined in the new Tax Code:
Object of incen ves

Nature of incen ves

Eligibility requirements• Opera on in the following
manufacturing sectors: computercomponents; electronics; lightindustries; silk; construc onmaterials; food and food processing;chemicals and pharmaceu cals
Exempt from:• Property tax• Land tax and• Water usage tax
Enterprises
a rac ng FDI• Loca on outside the city of Tashkent
or Tashkent region• Minimum share of foreign capital atleast 33% (15% for joint-stockcompanies)

Dura on/expira on date

• 3 years: investment of 300,000
to 3 million USD• 5 years: investment of 3 million
to 10 million USD• 7 years: investment of more than
10 million USD• Investment not subject to asovereign guarantee• At least 50% of tax savings spent on
reinvestment for further
development

Goods imported by enterprises withforeign shareholdings exceeding 33%

2 years from the date of stateregistra on

Goods imported by enterprises with
FDI exceeding $50 million, provided
that these goods are produced by theforeign en ty

Unlimited

Exempt from:• Customs du es• 3 years for an investment of 3
million to 5 million USD
Exempt from:• Corporate incometax (CIT)• Provision of export-oriented
produc on• Alignment of projects with technicaland environmental regula ons andenergy-eﬃciency requirements

Exempt from:• Property tax
FEZ tenants• Land tax• Alignment with the func onal andindustrial specializa on of the FEZ• Ensuring that 90% of staﬀ are local
workers• Water usage tax• 5 years for an investment of 5
million to 15 million USD• 10 years for an investment
above 15 million USD• 3 years: investment of 300,000
to 3 million USD• 5 years: investment of 3 million
to 5 million USD• 7 years: investment of 5 million
to 10 million USD• 10 years: investment of morethan 10 million USD

Exempt from:• Customs du es(except for VAT andcustoms processing
fees)

40

• Materials not produced in
Uzbekistan and used in a project's
construc on phase• Technological equipment not
produced in Uzbekistan as per theapproved list
• Raw materials and components used
to produce export-oriented goods

UnlimitedObject of incen ves

Nature of incen ves

Eligibility requirements

Dura on/expira on dateSpeciﬁed upon conclusion of theinvestment agreement

Speciﬁed in the investment
agreement

Speciﬁed upon conclusion of the PSA

Speciﬁed in the investment
agreement

When not speciﬁed inlegisla on, the natureof incen ves may vary,depending on the
project's
Investment
agreement par es• volume ofinvestment,• loca on,• industry,• and socioeconomic
impact and job
crea on.

Produc on sharing
agreement (“PSA”)
par cipantsShould be determinedby the PSA terms
1% CIT rate
1% rate turnover tax

Speciﬁc territories in
the Fergana region(the Sokh district; theChungar mahalla in
the Rishtan district;
the Shakhimardan
mahalla; and theYordan, Tashtepa, andKhosilot mahallas)

1% social tax rate on
payroll of employees
working in a speciﬁc
territory

Registering and carrying out ac vi es
in a speciﬁc territory

Engagement of employees in ac vi es
in a speciﬁc territory

Applica ons of 0.1
coeﬃcient on property
Loca on in a speciﬁc territory
tax and land tax rates,
respec vely
Applica ons of 0.1
coeﬃcient on water
usage tax rate

Usage of water resources in a speciﬁc
territories

1% PIT rate

Individuals engaged in employment
ac vi es in a speciﬁc territory

Exempt from:• property tax• land tax• turnover tax

Unlimited

Newly established en es designatedas “points of growth” for all districts
and ci es of the Republic of
Karakalpakstan by decree of the
President of Uzbekistan

Exempt from:• property tax
Temporary tax
beneﬁts for newly
established businessen es in the
Republic of
Karakalpakstan• land tax• turnover tax
50% reduc on of tax
rate:

Newly established en es in the
manufacturing sector and located in
the Takhtakupyr, Bozatau andShumanai districts of the Republic of
Karakalpakstan

For a period un l 1 January 2024

• CIT
• water tax
Exempt from:• CIT• property tax• land tax• turnover tax

Newly established en es in theservice sector and located in 45
mahallas and auls with diﬃcult
condi ons, corresponding to the list
drawn up by the Jokargy Kenes of the
Republic of Karakalpakstan

41

4.4

Accoun ng and audit requirements

Accoun ng standards

Financial year and repor ng

Uzbekistan is in the process of transi oning
towards interna onal ﬁnancial repor ng
standards (IFRS). As legisla on allowed
enterprises to use either IFRS or the na onal
accoun ng standard (NAS) as a statutory
accoun ng framework, some may have already
opted for bookkeeping and preparing ﬁnancial
statements in accordance with the former
instead of the la er.

• The ﬁnancial year is set as a calendar year, star ng
on January 1st and ending on December 31st.

Certain types of enterprises—such as joint
stock companies, banks, insurance companies,
and legal en es categorized as large
taxpayers—must apply the IFRS on a
mandatory basis as of January 1st, 2021. Large
taxpayers are considered to be enterprises• whose total annual turnover exceeds 100
billion UZS (approximately 9.4 million USD);• which produce excisable goods or provide
excisable services;• which are engaged in the extrac on,processing, transporta on, and sale ofhydrocarbons/mineral resources (except
petroleum sta ons);• which produce or distribute electricity;• which use Uzbek airspace for passenger
transport or air traﬃc services.
RepOﬃces and PEs are not required tomaintain fully-ﬂedged accoun ng or ﬁleﬁnancial statements in accordance with Uzbek
accoun ng regula ons. Such en es keep an
opera onal record of the results of theirac vi es, including for tax purposes.

42• Uzbek legal en es should provide ﬁnancial
statements to the tax authori es on either aquarterly or annual basis, depending on their legal
classiﬁca on.

Audit requirements
Audi ng requirements are s pulated in the Law on
Audit Ac vity, adopted in 1992 and amended in
2018. According to the law, ﬁnancial statements
must be audited once a year for• banks and other ins tu ons licensed by the CBU;
• insurance companies;• all joint-stock companies;• enes administering public funds at large;• chari es and non-governmental organiza ons;
• en es where at least one of the shareholders is a
public en ty;• and stock exchanges.
In addi on, any en ty may choose to have its
ﬁnancial statements audited. The Ministry of
Finance sets and enforces the Uzbek Na onal
Standards on Audi ng, based on the Interna onal
Standards on Audi ng (ISA).

INVESTMENT GUIDE UZBEKISTAN

5Legal matters5.1. Investment related laws
5.2. Intellectual property rights
5.3. Dispute Se lement

5.1

Investment related laws

Law on Investments

Other legisla on

The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on
Investments and Investment Ac vi es (or “Lawon Investments” for short) governs both domes cand foreign investments in the country. It
establishes the fundamental principles forinvestment ac vi es in Uzbekistan, such aslegi macy, transparency, freedom, fairness,equality, non-discrimina on, and good faith.

Other laws regulate speciﬁc areas of investment
ac vity in Uzbekistan. The following are the mostimportant:

The Law on Investments and relevant investment
regula ons deﬁne as an “enterprise with foreign
investments” a legal en ty whose charter capitalamounts to at least 400 million UZS(approximately 38,000 USD) and in which at least
15% of shares correspond to foreign investment.
Moreover, the law s pulates the following
guarantees for investors:• Law on Special Economic Zones, which provides
investors with addi onal incen ves andbeneﬁts in rela on to projects established in
SEZs• General rights• Use of funds• Free transfer of funds• Return of foreign investment in connec on withthe termina on of investment ac vi es• Protec on from unfavorable changes in
na onal legisla on• Publicity and transparency• Investment protec on, including the possibility
to obtain addi onal guarantees and measures
for this purpose• Protec on against conﬂic ng provisions
The bilateral investment trea es (BITs) signed by
Uzbekistan serve as addi onal sources toregulate investment ac vi es. It has signed BITs
with 54 states so far, 45 of which are in force.

44• Civil Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which
provides the general framework for the majorityof transac ons between en es or individuals(including property acquisi on by foreign
investors)• Law on Public-Private Partnerships, whichs pulates the rights, responsibili es and state
support incen ves for foreign investors as
private partners• Law on Investment and Mutual Funds, which
provides mechanisms for diversiﬁed investment
ac vi es
• Law on Produc on Sharing Agreements, which
delimits foreign mining investment ac vi es
domes cally• Law on Licensing, Permi ng and No ﬁca on
Procedures, which supplies informa on on
licensing regula ons and a list of ac vi es to be
conducted exclusively based on licenses,
permits or no ﬁca on• Law on Nature Conserva on, which lays out
provisions for environmental and natural
resource use clearance.

5.2Intellectual property rights

Overview
The sphere of intellectual property (IP) iscurrently under reconsidera on by stateauthori es. The amendments made in recent
years aimed at ﬁlling legisla ve gaps toincrease protec on for right-holders, especially foreign ones.
Moreover, recent developments have enabledapplicants to submit their applica ons online
to reduce administra ve burden and paperwork.

Laws and regula ons
The IP sphere is primarily regulated by the Civil
Code. Statutory acts regula ng certain types ofIP rights more speciﬁcally include the Law on
Copyright and Related Rights; Law on Trademarks, Service Marks and Names of Origin ofGoods; Law on Breeding Achievements; andLaw on Inven ons, U lity Models andIndustrial Designs.
IP regula ons also apply to licensing andfranchising, according to general Civil Codeprovisions, since no speciﬁc statutory acts
govern these ac vi es; and are subject toseveral interna onal conven ons, trea es andagreements. Uzbekistan is a member of theWorld Intellectual Property Organiza on(WIPO), which broadens the scope ofinterna onal coopera on and IP rights
protec on.

Government ins tu ons in charge
The Intellectual Property Agency (IP Agency),
under the Ministry of Jus ce of Uzbekistan, isthe main regulatory state authority in the ﬁeldof IP.
The IP Agency is responsible for the development of uniﬁed state IP policies, legal
protec on of IP objects, establishment andstrengthening of interna onal legal coopera on on
IP ma ers, registra on of IP rights (including
licensing agreements under franchising), etc.

Types of IP
Copyright
Copyright covers works of science, literature, art aswell as computer programs and databases, andarises upon crea on of an IP object with indica onof author's name. No registra on procedures are
required.
The sign of copyright consists of: “[©] [copyrightholder's name] [year of ﬁrst publica on]”.
Industrial property (inven ons, u lity models,industrial designs)
The right to industrial property belongs to theauthors and is cer ﬁed by a patent. The registra onof industrial property under the IP Agency isevidenced through issued patents. Patent dura on
ranges from 5 to 20 years, depending on theindustrial property type.
Trademark
Trademarks are also subject to registra on with thestate. Uzbekistan is a party to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the Interna onal Registra on ofMarks (1891) and the Protocol Rela ng to that
Agreement (1989), Geneva Conven on for theProtec on of Producers of Phonograms Against
Unauthorized Duplica on of their Phonograms(1971) and Paris Conven on for the Protec on ofIndustrial Property (1883). En es which have duly
registered their trademarks in other member states
may expand their validity and protec on to
Uzbekistan through secondary registra on, byapplying either to the WIPO or the IP Agency.
A trademark gains lawful protec on a er its
registra on and is valid for up to 10 years.

45

5.3

Dispute se lement

Overview
The main sources of law in Uzbekistan are
codiﬁed sets of legal and regulatory acts. Local
and foreign companies may resort totradi onal means (state courts) or alterna vemethods (arbitra on and media on ) of dispute
resolu on.

Laws and regula ons
The Uzbek judicial system is regulated by theCons tu on, the Law on Courts, Law on
Enforcement of Judicial Decisions andDecisions of Other Authori es, among others.
The Plenum of the Supreme Court issues
binding resolu ons on various aspects of law
and dispute resolu on, to ensure a single andcorrect interpreta on of legisla on.
Moreover, the procedural requirements ofdispute resolu on / li ga on processes are
established by the respec ve procedural codes
which vary by the type of the case to Economic
Procedural Code, Code on Administra ve
Court Proceedings, Civil Procedural Code, andCriminal Procedural Code.

Government ins tu ons in charge
State courts
Uzbek judicial system consists of Cons tuonal Court, Supreme Court, Military Courts aswell as Administra ve, Civil, Criminal andEconomic Courts of diﬀerent levels.
Judicial Assembly for Investment Disputes andCompe on Cases (“Judicial Assembly”)
The Judicial Assembly was established in 2020
and is empowered to resolve the investment
disputes between major investors (natural or
legal persons, whose investments exceed USD
20 mln.) and state authori es, as well ascompe on cases. Upon the request of major
investors the Judicial Assembly shall resolve theinvestment disputes and compe on cases as thecourt of the ﬁrst instance.

Alterna ve dispute resolu on methods
Domes c arbitra on
Domes c arbitra on courts are non-governmental
bodies which resolve disputes arising from civil
legal rela ons between business en es inaccordance with Uzbek law. Such courts are divided
into two categories: temporary and permanent.
Interna onal commercial arbitra on
Interna onal commercial arbitra on in Uzbekistan
is governed by the Law on Interna onal Commercial
Arbitra on, dated February 16th, 2021. It sets fortha regulatory framework for the incorpora on andopera on of interna onal arbitra on courts⁵.
Because Uzbekistan is a signatory party to the New
York Conven on, the decisions of foreign
arbitra on tribunals can be enforced in the country.
Uzbekistan is a party to other interna onal
mul lateral and regional trea es governinginterna onal commercial and investment
arbitra on, including the ICSID Conven on.
Tashkent Interna onal Arbitra on Centre (“TIAC”)
The TIAC has competences to resolve disputes
through arbitra on and media on. It provides
consul ng services to domes c and foreignbusiness en es and investors, aimed at preven ng
investment-related disputes (including investorstate disputes).
Media onUzbekistan adopted the Law on Media on on July
3rd, 2018, as its regulatory framework formedia on proceedings⁶.

⁵ The law became eﬀec ve only on August 18th, 2021. So far, no enforcement mechanisms have been implemented in local legisla on (e.g.,
injunc ve relief, restric ve order).
⁶ The media on prac ce has not been resorted to on a regular basis so far, since the domes c legisla on provides no instrument to enforce
media on se lement agreements.

46

INVESTMENT GUIDE UZBEKISTAN

6

Labor andhuman resourses

6

Labor and human resourses

Laws and regula ons
Labor rela ons are regulated mainly by the Labor
Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, by lawss pula ng general procedures, and by employers' collec ve agreements.
The legisla on is similarly applicable to all
employers and employees opera ng/working in
Uzbek territory. Foreign na onals employed in
Uzbekistan thus have the same rights andobliga ons as Uzbek na onals.

Government ins tu on in charge
The state authority regula ng the labor sector is
the Ministry of Employment and Labor Rela ons(MELF). The Federa on of Labor Unions of
Uzbekistan exercises supervision and control
over compliance with labor legisla on at a more
local level.

Key considera on for employing staﬀ
The Uzbek labor system is rela vely sociallyoriented: Employees are provided with asubstan ve range of rights and protec ons. The
employment age is 16 (condi onal), with full labor
capacity being reached at the age of 18. Labor
contracts can be open-ended or limited indura on (up to 5 years) or to a par cular task.
Remunera on policy• As of June 2022, the minimum wage was
920,000 UZS (around 90 USD) per month.
Above the minimum wage, employers andemployees are free to determine remunera on
in their labor agreement in the local currency.
• Remunera on terms and amounts and otherpayments listed in the labor contract must be
made in the local currency.
• In case employees work over me or on theirdesignated days oﬀ or holidays, the employer
must pay at least double the rate or provide
corresponding me oﬀ (compensatory me).
• Employees working in areas of harsh or adverse
condi ons are en tled to addi onal wages.

48

Working hours and leave• The number of full- me working hours per
week is 40.
• Employees have a right to free me during the
workday (usually an hour for lunch).
• Employment par es may choose to have a ﬁveor six-day working week, with the common day
oﬀ being Sunday.
• Employees have a right to an annual paid leaveof at least 15 working days.
Social insurance of employees and compensa ons
All employees are subject to state social
insurance, funded via the social tax paid byemployers. The insured employees (and family
members) have a right to receive temporary
disability, re rement, survivor, maternity, andchildbirth beneﬁts.
Proba on period
The labor contract may s pulate a proba on
period of no longer than three months. The
proba on period cannot be applied to pregnant
women, mothers with children under three years
old, or graduates job-seeking within three years
of ﬁnishing their studies.
Labor contract termina on and no ﬁca on
requirements
According to Uzbek labor legisla on, labor
contracts may be terminated on the following
bases:• Agreement of both par es• Expira on of the term of the labor contract• Grounds envisaged in the labor contract• Events beyond the par es' control.

An employee may terminate the labor contract
on their own ini a ve at any me, by providing
two-weeks' no ce to the employer.
The labour contract may be terminated at theemployer's ini a ve only in the following
cases:• Decreasing demand in human resources due
to opera onal changes or liquida on of theen ty• Employee unsuitability for the posi on• Systema c disciplinary viola ons in theworkplace or a one- me gross viola on⁷• Replacement of a part- me employee with afull- me employee• Termina on of top managers' labor contracts
upon en ty ownership changes• Employees' reaching the re rement age
When ini ated by the employer, the labor contract
termina on no ce period ranges from three days
(for viola ons) to two months (for change inownership or liquida on).

Representa ve bodies of employees
Representa ve bodies such as labor unions protect
and nego ate employees' rights and interests.
Employees may also elect a special body(commi ee) within their organiza on to represent
and protect labor rights and interests.

Employment of foreign personnel
The employment of foreign ci zens in Uzbekistan requires both an employment visa and a work permit.
Uzbekistan has a visa-free regime with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova,
Russia, and Ukraine. Although ci zens of these countries are not required to obtain an entry or
employment visa, they must s ll obtain work permits.

Entry visa

Work permit

An entry visa, preferably an employment visa (an E visa), is required of all foreign
employees before they travel to Uzbekistan to work. Foreign ci zens must apply to the
Embassy of Uzbekistan in their home countries to obtain an entry visa.
The employer shall submit visa-suppor ng documents to the Ministry of Foreign
Aﬀairs, which will issue a visa conﬁrma on number to the foreign employee that they
will use to apply for a visa.
A work permit is required of all foreign employees. It is employers' responsibility toobtain a work permit for their employees, and employers must apply to the Agency for
External Labor Migra on under the Ministry of Employment and Labor Rela ons of
Uzbekistan for work permits.
Work permits are classiﬁed as regular employee, qualiﬁed employee, or highly
qualiﬁed employee permits. The class determines the work permit dura on andapplicable fees.

Employment
visa

Foreign ci zens who are in Uzbekistan without an employment visa (E visa) must obtain
one to work in Uzbekistan a er receiving a work permit.
The employer shall ﬁle a visa applica on form with the Ministry of Internal Aﬀairs andamend the foreigner's exis ng entry visa (usually a B-2 visa) to an E visa. The E visa will
be issued within 2–3 days for the dura on of the work permit.

⁷ A one- me gross viola on means breaching an important aspect of labor discipline within the internal labor order.

49

Appendix 1
The list of enterprises, whose shares are to be publicly traded on a stock exchange from2022 to 2023
No.

Name of enterprises

Business

1

JSC Uzmetkombinat

Metallurgy

2

JSC Uzbekne egaz

Oil and gas

3

JSC Uzbekgeoﬁzika

Oil and gas

4

JSC Na onal Bank of Foreign Economic Ac vityof the Republic of Uzbekistan

Finance (bank)

5

JSC Halq Bank

Finance (bank)

6

JSC Agrobank

Finance (bank)

7

JSC Microcreditbank

Finance (bank)

8

JSC Qishloq Qurilish Bank

Finance (bank)

9

JSC AloqabankFinance (bank)

10

JSC Uzagrosugurta

Finance (insurance)

11

JSC Uzbekinvest

Finance (insurance)

12

JSC Alskom

Finance (insurance)

13

JSC Universal Sugurta

Finance (insurance)

14

JSC Kurilishmashlizing

Finance (leasing)

15

JSC Uzbekistan airways

Airline16

JSC Uztransgaz

Gas transmission lines

17

JSC UzAutoSanoat

Automobile manufacturing

18

JSC UzAuto Motors

Automobile manufacturing

19

JSC Uztemiryulkonteyner

Container transporta on

20

JSC Uzbekiston pochtasi

Postal service

21

JSC Dori-Darmon

Wholesale and retail of pharmaceu cal products50Appendix 2
List of countries with which Uzbekistan has a most-favored-na on status

Austria

Egypt

Lithuania

TurkeyAfghanistanIsraelMalta

FinlandBangladesh

India

Luxembourg

FranceBelgiumIndonesia

Netherlands

Croa aBulgaria

Ireland

Portugal

Czech Republic

BrazilSpain

Pakistan

SwedenUnited Kingdom

Italy

PolandSwitherland

Hungary

JordanSlovenia

Estonia

Vietnam

CyprusRomaniaJapan

GermanySouth Korea

Slovakia

Saudi Arabia

GreeceChina

Singapore

Malaysia

Denmark

LatviaUSA

51

Appendix 3
Leadership of the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Responsibili es
Jamshid Khodjaev
Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade
E-mail: j.khodjayev@mi .uz
Phone: +998 (71) 238-50-00

Laziz Kudratov
First Deputy Minister of Investments andForeign Trade
E-mail: l.kudratov@mi .uz
Phone: +998 (71) 238-51-51

Nozimjon Kholmurodov
First Deputy Minister of Investments andForeign Trade
E-mail: n.kholmurodov@mi .uz
Phone: +998 (71) 238-50-97

Investments, trade andforeign economic aﬀairsof the Republic of Uzbekistan– coordina on of bilateral
coopera on with foreign countries– improvement of the global
compe veness and investment
climate of Uzbekistan– regional development and sectoral
management (mining, construc onmaterials, light and electricalindustries, agriculture, social
sphere, pharmaceu cals, andﬁnance)Badriddin Abidov– accession to the WTO

Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign
Trade
E-mail: b.abidov@mi .uz
Phone: +998 (71) 238-50-81– coopera on with the UN Mul Partner Human Security TrustFund for the Aral Sea region in
Uzbekistan (MPHSTF)– tariﬀ and non-tariﬀ regula on

Bakh yor Rakhimov– trade capacity development

Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign
Trade
E-mail: b.rahimov@mi .uz
Phone: +998 (71) 238-50-96– sectoral management (logis cs andtransport)

Vacant– coordina on with IFIs and bilateraldevelopment ﬁnancial ins tu ons

Deputy Minister of Investments and ForeignTrade– coordina on of ODA loans, grants
and technical assistance programs– sectoral management (oil & gas,energy, chemical andinfrastructure)52

Responsibili es
Olimkhon Rustamov
Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign
Trade
E-mail: o.rustamov@mi .uz
Phone: +998 (71) 238-51-10

Khurram Teshabaev
Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign
Trade,
Director of the Center for Development of
Investment Projects
E-mail: kh.teshabaev@mi .uz
Phone: +998 (71) 252-20-98
Dilshod Sa arov
General Director of the Uzbek Agency forTechnical Regula on
E-mail: uzst@standart.uz
Phone: +998 (71) 202-00-11

Ulugbek Muradov
Director of the Export Promo on Agency
E-mail: info@epauzb.uz
Phone: +998 (71) 207-05-09

Ulugbek Kasimkhodjaev
Director of the Investment Promo on
AgencyE-mail: uzipa@invest.gov.uz
Phone: +998 (71) 202-02-10

Shakhrukh Rakhimov
Director of the Agency for Interna onal
Coopera on and Development
E-mail: r.rakhimov@asd.uz
Phone: +998 (71) 202-09-59– forma on and monitoring of thestate investment program– coordina on of the ac vi es of
SEZs– supervision of the ministry's 14
regional representa ve oﬃces– development and implementa onof new investment projects– Implementa on and coordina onof standardiza on andcer ﬁca on.

– informa onal and ﬁnancial support
to exporters– analysis of export markets– promo on of Uzbek brands andproducts abroad– informa onal and legal support forforeign investors– promo on of the investment
opportuni es in Uzbekistan– facilita on of foreign and domes cinvestors– implementa on and monitoring ofsovereign loan projects– monitoring of transparent
procurement processes

53Appendix 4
Useful contacts:
Governmental Organiza ons
Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade
Address: 1, Islam Karimov Street,
Tashkent, 100029
Phone: +998 (71) 238-50-00,
Helpline: +998 (71) 238-50-05
E-mail: info@mi .uz; mi @exat.uz
Website: www.mi .uz
Investment Promo on Agency of Uzbekistan
Address: 34, Taras Shevchenko Street,
Tashkent, 100060
Phone: +998 (71) 202-02-10
E-mail: uzipa@invest.gov.uz
Website: h ps://invest.gov.uz/
Ministry of Finance
Address: 29, Is klol Street., Tashkent, 100017
Phone: +998 (71) 239-12-52,+998 (71) 239-15-69
Fax: +998 (71) 244-56-43
E-mail: info@mf.uz
Website: www.mf.uz
Central Bank of Uzbekistan
Address.: 6 Islam Karimov Street, Tashkent,
100001
Phone: +998 (71) 212-62-05;+998 (71) 200-00-44
Fax: +998 (71) 233-35-09
E-mail: info@cbu.uz
Website: h ps://cbu.uz/en/

Ministry of Economic Development andPoverty Reduc on
Address: 45A, Islam Karimov Street, Tashkent,
100003
Phone: +998 (71) 232-63-20
Helpline: +998 (71) 207-71-73
Fax: +998 (71) 232-63-72
E-mail: info@mineconomy.uz
Website: h ps://mineconomy.uz/en
Ministry of Jus ce
Address: 5, Sayilgoh Street, Tashkent city,
100047
Phone: (0371) 207-04-43
E-mail: info@adliya.uz
Website: www.minjust.uz
Ministry of Foreign Aﬀairs
Address: 3, Amir Temur Street, Tashkent,
100000Phone: +998 (71) 233-80-98
Fax: +998 (71) 239-15-17
E-mail: info@mfa.uz
Website: www.mfa.uz
Ministry of Agriculture
Address: 2, Universitet Street, Qibray District,
100140Phone: +998 (71) 206-70-30
E-mail: info@agro.uz
Website: h ps://www.agro.uz/
Ministry of Energy
Address: 21, Is kbol Street, Tashkent, 100047
Phone: +998 (71) 233-80-98
Fax: +998 (71) 239-15-17
E-mail: info@minenergy.uz
Website: h ps://minenergy.uz/en

54Ministry of Health
Address.: 4 Navoi Street, Shaykhantaur
District, Tashkent, 100011
Phone: +998 (71) 239-47-95
E-mail: info@ssv.uz
Website: h ps://ssv.uz/en

Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized
Educa on
Address.: 2, Chimbay Street, Apt 96, Tashkent,
100095Phone: +998 (71) 246-10-81
E-mail: edu@exat.uz
Website: h ps://www.edu.uz/

Ministry of Construc on
Ministry of Employment and Labor Rela ons
Address.: 6 Abay Street, Tashkent, 100011
Phone: +998 (71) 210-11-04
Fax: +998 (71) 210-11-04
E-mail: info@mc.uz
Website: h ps://mc.uz/?lang=ru
Ministry for Development of Informa on
Technologies and Communica ons
Address: 4, Amir Temur Avenue, Tashkent,
100047
Phone: +998 (71) 238-41-59
Fax: +998 (71) 239-87-82
E-mail: info@mitc.uz
Website: www.mitc.uz
Ministry of Pre-School Educa on
Address: 17 Amir Temur Street, Mirabad
District, Tashkent, 100070
Phone: +998 (71) 207-04-08
E-mail: info@mpe.uz
Website: h ps://mpe.uz/
Ministry of Public Educa on
Address.: 2a, Navoi Street, Shaykhantaur
District, Tashkent, 100187
Phone: +998 (71) 241-01-86
E-mail: info@xtv.uz
Website: h ps://www.uzedu.uz/

Address.: 15, Mirobod Street, Tashkent,
100100Phone: +998 (71) 239-41-21
Helpline: +998 (71) 200-06-00
E-mail: info@mehnat.uz
Website: h ps://mehnat.uz/en

Non-governmental Organiza ons
Uzbekistan Banking Associa on
Address.: 1, A. Xojaev Street, Tashkent,
100027
Phone: +998 (71) 238-69-61
Fax: +998 (71) 238-69-62
E-mail: oﬃce@uba.uz
Website: h ps://uba.uz/en/
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
Uzbekistan
Address: 4, Amir Temur Street, 100047
Phone: +998 (78) 150-60-06
E-mail: info@chamber.uz
Website: www.chamber.uz
American Chamber of Commerce in
Uzbekistan
Address.: 21A, Taras Shevchenko Street,Oﬃce 505, Tashkent, Uzbekistan 100060
Phone: +998 (78) 140 08 77
E-mail: amcham.assistant@amcham.uz
Website: h ps://amcham.uz/

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