On March 24th, 2023, Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved a new privatization program aimed at enhancing economic growth and development in the country. The program focuses on three main areas: the sale of shares, real estate, and the organization of IPOs.

Under the program, state-owned shares in 1,000 enterprises will be sold. Additionally, 1,000 real estate properties, including 600 hectares of land and structures with a total area of 1 million sq. m, will be put up for public auction. These properties are located near settlements and are equipped with infrastructure. To expedite the sale of these assets, the sale preparation period will be reduced from the current 80 days to 48 days. Entrepreneurs will also be allowed to request the sale of properties with an area of up to 2,000 sq. m.

Furthermore, the state's share in 40 large enterprises and banks will be sold through IPOs. This will be the first time that the population will be offered approximately 2% of shares in such significant enterprises as Navoi and Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Plants, Uzbek Metallurgical Plants, Uztelecom, the National Bank, and Uzpromstroybank. Companies that participate in the IPO will be required to spend at least 30% of their net profit on paying dividends for five years.

It is anticipated that this program will generate revenues of up to 13 trillion UZS in 2023 and facilitate the creation of 3,000 new enterprises and 50,000 jobs, thereby promoting economic growth in Uzbekistan.

Source: president.uz