Uzbekistan's state-backed fund to go public in London and Tashkent

April 9 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan's ​National Investment Fund plans to float on the London and Tashkent stock exchanges, it ​said ‌on Thursday, marking the first foray into global equity markets for ⁠an Uzbek state-backed entity.

The fund, wholly ⁠owned by the Ministry ​of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, holds minority stakes of 25% to 40% in 13 state-owned enterprises spanning transportation, energy, ​telecommunications, ‌utilities and banking.

Central Asia's most populous country with around 38 million people, Uzbekistan has been pursuing a program of economic reform under Mirziyoyev, who took office in 2016, even as politics ​in the former Soviet republic remain tightly controlled.

"Uzbekistan is taking a ‌historic step, for the first time, we are entering the global equity market. The National Investment ‌Fund will offer shares of national companies for sale in two venues simultaneously," Saida Mirziyoyeva, the head of Uzbekistan's presidential administration and ​the daughter of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, said in a statement.

The ministry would ‌sell ordinary shares on the Tashkent Stock Exchange and global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange's main market.

UzNIF, managed by a ⁠subsidiary ⁠of Franklin Templeton, was established by presidential decree ‌in August 2024.

From its incorporation in December 2024 to end-2025, UzNIF reported a ​net ​profit of $116.7 million, driven primarily by $138.2 million ‌in unrealized gains on its equity investments and $14.3 million in gross dividend income.