Investment

The investors – legal entities and individuals of Uzbekistan, foreign states, international organizations and foreign legal entities and individuals – can engage in investment activity in Uzbekistan by means of:

• establishment of legal entity, equity participation in companies, together with Uzbek resident legal entities and individuals;
• establishment of an enterprise wholly owned by a foreign investor;
• portfolio participation through the acquisition of bonds, shares and share certificates, and other securities issued by Uzbek companies or the Government; and
• whole or partial acquisition of tenure rights, rights to immovable property (including land use rights), concession rights for the use of subsoil resources, etc.

The foreign investment regime of Uzbekistan particularly welcomes foreign investors producing goods in Uzbekistan for their further export, or those replacing goods that would otherwise be imported.

Additionally, every year the Government enacts an Investment Program, listing the priority projects for Uzbek economy. These are usually limited to multi-million dollar investment projects involving Production Private Enterprices with Foreign Investments.

Contrary to the perception of many foreign investors, inclusion in the Investment Program does not automatically entitle a particular project to tax, currency conversion, or other incentives. Rather, projects included in the Investment Program are simply eligible for incentives at the discretion of the Government, which are obtained by special Government resolution. 

Investment practice provides an overview of Investment sector of Uzbekistan, including applicable regulations, overviews of foreign investors and protection of their rights, guarantees and incentives to foreign investors, procedure of signing of investment agreements and templates, templates of waiver of sovereign immunity, overview and templates of stabilization clauses, etc.