In a meeting on November 20, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev discussed the progress of transformation and privatization in Uzbekistan's banking system. The meeting highlighted significant achievements in the sector over the past three years.
During this period, the capital of commercial banks increased by 1.8 times, and the annual volume of lending doubled. Notably, four banks successfully issued Eurobonds, raising $1bn on the international capital market. Furthermore, 13 new private banks, including institutions from Hungary, Kazakhstan, and Georgia, were established in Uzbekistan. The volume of online banking services experienced a substantial increase of 2.7 times.
The growing competition and demand for banking services in the country underscore the importance of accelerating transformation processes. The meeting addressed proposals to prepare banks for privatization, organize initial public offerings (IPOs) of their securities, and attract foreign specialists to the field.
President Mirziyoyev emphasized the need to strengthen interaction with international rating agencies and instructed the development of medium-term measures to enhance the ratings of banks.
The involvement of foreign banks in the privatization of Uzbekistan's banking sector gained momentum in June when the Hungarian OTP Bank acquired nearly 75% of the state stake in Ipoteka Bank, marking the first instance of a foreign bank participating in the privatization efforts.
Comments (0)