International Capital Is Increasingly Entering Uzbekistan

International capital is becoming increasingly active in Uzbekistan — and the country is no longer viewed merely as an “exotic frontier market.”

The IPO of the National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan (UzNIF), featuring a dual listing in Tashkent and London and backed by institutional investors such as BlackRock, Franklin Resources, and Redwheel, sends a strong signal to the entire region.

Against the backdrop of the Tashkent International Financial Centre (TIFC), which is expected to become fully operational by 2027, the country is steadily building infrastructure tailored to international capital:

• tax incentives
• an independent regulator and court system
• a legal framework based on English common law
• development of capital markets, Islamic finance, and the fintech sector

Equally important is the preparation of legislation on alternative investment funds for private equity and venture capital. For Central Asia, this represents the next stage in the evolution of the regional investment ecosystem — moving beyond simply attracting capital toward creating transparent and internationally familiar mechanisms for deploying and managing it within the region.