President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced at a meeting on April 24 that the Uzbekistan National Investment Fund (UzNIF) will place 30% of its portfolio shares through an initial public offering (IPO). This became possible due to the establishment of the fund and the transfer of management of 13 strategic enterprises to Franklin Templeton.

According to the head of state, the share placement will take place in May. “Next month, we will for the first time bring 30% of state assets worth $2.4 billion to international stock markets. Know this: we have deeply considered and made a final decision to take our economy to a new international level,” Mirziyoyev said.

The president noted that in the first quarter, Uzbekistan's GDP growth accelerated to 8.7% (compared to 6.8% in Q1 2025), industry grew by 8% (6.5%), services by 16.1% (7%), and agriculture by 5.1% (3.8%).

Against the backdrop of non-delivery of gold, export volumes slightly decreased to $5.8 billion (from $8.1 billion), foreign investment reached $13.7 billion, and annual inflation fell for the first time to 7.1% (from 10.3%).

Budget revenues in January-March increased by 35% compared to the same period last year, reaching 103 trillion soums. Local budgets generated an additional 2.2 trillion soums, of which 1.4 trillion soums remained at the disposal of districts and cities.

As of December 31, 2025, the net asset value of the fund was $2.44 billion. UzNIF's portfolio includes minority stakes in 13 state-owned companies, including Uzbekistan Airways, Uzbektelecom, and others. Major global funds such as BlackRock and Franklin Resources act as “anchor investors.” They have committed to purchasing $300 million worth of the fund's securities as part of the expected share placement in London and Tashkent.

Source: www.gazeta.uz