Uzbek fund secures cornerstone agreements with funds including BlackRock for London IPO

ALMATY, April 16 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan's ​National Investment Fund ⁠said on Thursday ​it has signed cornerstone agreements with funds including the world's ​largest ‌asset manager BlackRock, and was going ahead with an ⁠initial public offering on the London ⁠and Tashkent stock ​exchanges.

The IPO is the first foray into global equity markets for an Uzbek state-backed entity, as the ​Central ‌Asian country pursues economic reforms.

"Certain funds and accounts under the management of BlackRock, Franklin Resources, Redwheel, and two wholly-owned treasury companies of Allan & ​Gill Gray Foundation have entered into cornerstone agreements," the ‌fund said in a statement.

It said the value of the cornerstone ‌agreements was approximately $300 million of global depositary receipts - certificates traded on an overseas stock exchange that represent shares ​of a foreign company.

The fund, wholly owned by Uzbekistan's ‌economy and finance ministry, holds minority stakes of 25% to 40% in 13 state-owned enterprises spanning transport, energy, ⁠telecommunications, utilities ⁠and banking.

Central Asia's most populous ‌country with around 38 million people has been pursuing economic ​reforms ​under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who took office ‌in 2016, even as politics in the former Soviet republic is still tightly controlled. (Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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