Monday, 14, April, 2025

Finances

In an unprecedented move, Uzbekistan has issued UZS 4.25 trillion ($ 349,177,875.00) of green sovereign international bonds on the London Stock Exchange. In tandem, the nation also placed international bonds valued at $660mn. This development was confirmed by the Uzbekistan Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a of $200 million loan that will help Uzbekistan modernize and digitize its power distribution system to improve energy efficiency and reliability of electricity services, the bank said.

IFC is providing a $10 million loan to Ipak Yuli Bank in Uzbekistan to support the bank's lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including women-owned SMEs, and promote inclusive economic growth.

Bank of China is exploring the Uzbek banking system and the relevant legal conditions to enter it, the press service of the Central Bank said.

The private Ravnaq-bank has changed its name to Octobank at the shareholder meeting on August 30. Sarvar Fayziev, who has owned 52.1% of the bank's shares since 2021, sold them in early August to the banl’s CEO Iskandar Tursunov, whose share increased from 19.9% to 72.05%. The deal is valued at 52.2 billion soums, or 4.2 million USD. The remaining shares belong to Fortis Reserve System, Sharq Guzar Servis and others.

Uzbekistan’s public debt of reached $29.2 billion as of the end of 2022. In Q4, it grew by $3 billion, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a report.

Shareholders of Uzagroexportbank at the Aug 10 shareholder meeting approved the change of the bank's name and rebranding. The bank’s name has been changed to AVO Bank. While, the maximum amount of declared bank shares has been raised to 200 billion ordinary shares worth 20 soums each.

The BOD of the Central Bank at its today's meeting decided to keep the interest rate at 14%, the press service of the regulator said.

The US authorities have imposed blocking sanctions against a number of Russian companies, including Tinkoff and Unistream banks. FOllowingly, Uzbek banks began to suspend operations with Unistream payment system.

Uzbek soum was among Top 10 weakest currencies in the world in 2023, The Uzbek soum ranked as the seventh weakest currency in the world with 1 soum buying 0.000087 dollar (or $1 equals 11,516 Uzbek soum). It was introduced in 1993 and is free-floating, Forbes said in report.

The 2023 consumer expenditure minimum in Uzbekistan was set at 568,000 soums per person per month. This is 12.4 percent higher than last year, the Statistics Agency.

The signing ceremony took place today at the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan, marking a significant milestone in the journey towards affordable and appealing sustainable energy solutions for rural communities. This event sets the stage for transformative advancements in the energy landscape, bringing us one step closer to empowering underserved areas.

Raiffeisen Bank issued statement stating that due to restrictions introduced on the part of correspondent banks, from July 3, 2023, an outgoing payment in euros to another bank cannot be made if the beneficiary's bank is located in one of the following countries: Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan , Moldova, United Arab Emirates, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. The new conditions apply to individual clients, individual entrepreneurs, as well as legal entities.

Today, on June 15, the Central Bank reviewed the interest rate, the press service of the Bank said. The Bank's BOD meeting decided to keep the main rate at 14% per annum.

ILO and IFC are launching a new Better Work programme in Uzbekistan to improve working conditions and drive competitiveness in the country’s key textile and garment industry.

The Hungarian OTP Bank has become the main shareholder and legal supervisory body of Ipoteka Bank, the fifth largest bank in Uzbekistan, the bank said. The bank's logo has also been changed.

UBS has imposed tight restrictions on Credit Suisse bankers including a ban on new clients from high-risk countries and on complex financial products after completing the takeover of its ailing rival on Monday. UBS executives have drawn up a list of nearly two dozen “red lines” that prohibit Credit Suisse staff from a range of activities from the first day the two banks are combined, according to people with knowledge of the measures. Prohibited activities include taking on clients from countries such as Libya, Russia, Sudan and Venezuela and launching new products without approval from UBS managers.

Digital payment system, Click, is merging with the Uzum Group, executives of the latter said in a statement. A merger plan agreement was signed on June 12 in Tashkent.

Uzbekistan’s reserves topped US$ 34.37 billion as of June 1, 2023 decreasing by $837.9 million in May, the Central Bank said in a report. Reserves have been declining for the second month in a row.

TBC Bank (TBC) announces that it has signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire the remaining minority share of 49% from the founding shareholders in LLC Inspired, the TBC's payments subsidiary operating under the Payme brand (Payme) in Uzbekistan. Following the acquisition of the minority share of Payme, TBC has become the 100% shareholder of Payme, the company said in a statement.