Representatives of major international institutional investors discussed prospects for operating in Uzbekistan's domestic financial market with the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The meeting with ministerial advisor Jasur Karshibayev took place on September 4.

Who came

The negotiations included representatives from:

  • Finland's State Pension Fund;
  • pension and insurance companies Ilmarinen, Elo and Veritas;
  • SOKA-BAU and Aktia Bank Oyj.

The delegation's composition is telling: these are conservative institutional investors with a long investment horizon, not speculative capital. Such entities enter markets slowly but stay for the long term.

Main topic — treasury bonds

The foreign delegation expressed interest in accessing Uzbekistan's government treasury bonds market. Participants discussed the potential of this segment and further development of the domestic financial market.

Ministry representatives outlined the current economic state, structural transformations and ongoing reforms. Investors positively assessed measures to develop the domestic financial market.

Why this matters for the market

Non-resident entry into the government debt market addresses several tasks simultaneously. It increases secondary market liquidity, establishes a market yield benchmark for corporate issues, and reduces budget dependence on external borrowing in foreign currency.

Previously, Tashkent Exchange leadership noted that the absence of foreign participants in the debt market is a key bottleneck: without a liquid secondary market and REPO mechanism, investors have nowhere to temporarily place or short-term borrow funds.

Goal — investment-grade rating

Particular attention was given to strengthening the country's credit profile. The parties reviewed prospects for further improving sovereign credit rating and achieving investment grade status.

This is a critical task: many institutional investors are restricted by internal regulations from investing in below-investment-grade securities. Reaching this threshold automatically opens access to capital currently unavailable to the market.

Participants also discussed approaches to public debt management, expanding financing options in national currency, and developing the domestic capital market.

This last point continues the line previously mentioned by the Central Bank chair: all Ministry of Finance borrowing this year has been denominated in soums.

For private investors, debt market development offers an alternative to familiar instruments — comparing bond yields makes sense against deposit rates, keeping in mind the difference in guarantee levels.

This material is for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice.