BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 23. Uzbekistan has adopted several reforms aimed at improving the business climate and boosting investment, Trend reports via EBRD.
In Uzbekistan, a new investment program for the period 2022-2026 provides for the establishment of a central project management office to oversee strategic investments. The Uzbek authorities have also announced further measures aimed at simplifying the procedures governing investment in special economic zones.
Uzbekistan has also announced reforms supporting the improvement of governance frameworks for state-owned enterprises, as well as the privatization of state assets.
A presidential decree on “additional measures to further reduce state participation in the economy and accelerate privatization” has set out a timeline for the privatization of some state-owned enterprises in Uzbekistan (including Uzbekistan Airways and the country’s national oil and gas company), as well as initial public offerings (IPOs) for state-owned banks.
Over the period 2016-2022, marked improvements in energy resilience have been observed in Uzbekistan.
In Uzbekistan, those increased scores reflect continued efforts to improve the regulatory environment, as well as the unbundling of the power sector in 2019.
Uzbekistan has also made improvements to its digital infrastructure. The country has announced around $2.5 billion of investment in digital infrastructure projects as part of the Digital Uzbekistan 2030 strategy, which was launched in 2020.