TASHKENT – Investors increasingly want predictable policies, credible financial regulation, functioning capital markets, digital infrastructure, a talent pool and transparent governance, as Central Asia seeks to strengthen its position as an attractive and resilient investment destination.
According to experts, Central Asia now has an opportunity to attract a larger share of global investment flows, but doing so will require not only financial innovation and regional connectivity, but also stronger institutions, transparent regulation and deeper capital markets.
Speakers of the panel session Scaling International Investment in Central Asia: What Comes Next? at the Silk Road Finance and Technology Forum 2026 on Aug. 24 in Tashkent. Photo credit: the forum’s press team. Over the past few years in Central Asia, several factors have been positive for the countries, including high gold prices and very high income flows supporting current account deficits.
The question is whether this will last long. External risks also include rising fuel and food prices, as well as climate factors. The experts agreed that macroeconomic stability is the foundation for attracting investors during the panel session at the Silk Road Forum on Aug.
24. Central Bank of Uzbekistan Governor Timur Ishmetov said the country will continue reducing inflation toward the 5% target by next year to ensure macroeconomic stability. The exchange rate remains flexible and market-oriented. “The IMF reclassified our exchange rate regime to floating, and we are keen to continue on that.
We will continue on capital account liberalization, but in a gradual and rightly sequenced manner. We drafted the roadmap for sequencing of those reforms. Our aim is, while providing more flexibility, to improve institutions, safeguard requirements, risk management, to make sure that we will not harm our stability issues and to improve our regulation,” he said.
Uzbekistan also reduced the state share in the banking sector from 85% to close to 60% in the last few years, and we will continue this trend. Foreign investors are looking for growth but also predictability. “Uzbekistan saw a 6% average growth since 2017 in real terms.
There is obviously a demographic dividend, which is pretty high in Central Asia overall and Uzbekistan in particular, which will help the market to grow. We have seen consistent policy making in Uzbekistan. In fact, our upgrade of the sovereign credit rating in 2025 was very much linked to this consistent track record of policy making and coordination between the authorities on that front,” said S&P Global Ratings Director Roman Rybalkin.
The country’s first major international equity transaction is being presented as a signal of investor confidence. The National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan (UzNIF) was listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Tashkent Stock Exchange. The transaction raised $692 million, with demand exceeding $2.9 billion.
The fund was trading at a significant premium to its net asset value. “We continue to bring companies to the market from our portfolio, because through the successful listing of the UzNIF, it shows the global interest in Uzbekistan, and we want to take advantage of this window of opportunity over the next few years and list a few of our assets including Uzbekistan Airways, UzTelecom, the hydropower business, and I think our successful IPO should also pave the way for very attractive private businesses that will be coming to the market over the next few years,” said Marius Dan, Chief Executive Officer for Central Asia at Templeton Global Investments.