The first transaction with shares of the National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan (UzNIF) on the Republican Stock Exchange "Tashkent" on May 18 took place at 5.39 sum. This is 22.2% higher than the price at which retail investors received securities at the IPO — 4.41 sum. By 12:24 Tashkent time, shares rose 37.6%. Trading also started in London.
Placement Parameters
- Offering price: $25.00 per GDR in London and 4.65 sum per share in Tashkent.
- For resident individuals with applications up to 12 billion sum, a 5% discount applied, with the price set at 4.41 sum.
- Total amount of funds raised — approximately $604 million. The company received no funds: all proceeds went to the shareholder, i.e., the state.
- The Ministry of Economy and Finance realized 31% of capital; the fund's capitalization at placement was valued at $1.95 billion.
UzNIF became the first Uzbek company with dual listing. Underwriters were Avesta Investment Group, Bluestone Financial Group, and Alkes Research, with the majority of retail applications submitted through the Jett app.
Demand and Distribution
According to Dimitry Abbasov, director of Avesta Investment Group, the global placement was oversubscribed more than four times, with the main demand coming from foreign investors. Odil Musaev, managing director of Alkes Research, reported that approximately 47.94 billion shares worth roughly $17.7 million were allocated in the Tashkent offering, marking the largest placement in local market history.
All private investors in the local market received 100% allocation by decision of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Institutional investor demand was modest: Abbasov attributed this to regulatory constraints for banks and reserve requirements. Local institutions received slightly over 55%. Farrokh Khodjaev, director of Kapital Depozit, noted that over 200 billion sum was raised in the local market without large-scale marketing.
Who Bought
According to Tolibjon Mirzakulov, head of Jett, the average purchase size increased roughly fivefold compared to previous IPOs, which averaged around 1 million sum; it is now approximately 6.83 million sum. Over 62% of participants are under 35 years old, with the most active group being ages 25–34, comprising around 40% of the pool.
Khodjaev noted that some investors reduced positions in bank shares and URTS to participate in the IPO.
On Sustainability
The fund is managed by Franklin Templeton with assets of $1.74 trillion. Anchor investors — BlackRock, Franklin Resources, and Redwheel — invested $300 million. Under the presidential decree, portfolio companies must direct at least 50% of profits to dividends until 2030. Avesta Investment Group plans to provide analytical coverage of the security.