Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The State Asset Management Agency (AUGA) of Uzbekistan announced a competition to select a professional consulting company to organize the privatization of 100% of the state share in the authorized capital of JSC National Interbank Processing Center (HUMO).

According to the Agency, the privatization of the HUMO payment system will be carried out through public auctions.

Consultants undertake to develop a methodology and conditions for privatization based on an analysis of investors’ interests in acquiring an asset, taking into account the network and individual characteristics of the company.

All interested parties are invited to submit their proposals by 26 June 2024, 18:00 Tashkent time.

In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PP-381 from 30 November 2023, National Interbank Processing Center LLC was transformed into a joint-stock company. The issue of the company’s shares was registered with the National Agency for Prospective Projects on 21 May 2024.

As part of the registration, 155,448,748 ordinary shares with a par value of 1 thousand soums each, with a total value of 155.4 billion soums, were issued, all shares are owned by the State Assets Agency.

The national payment system Humo was created in September 2018 in response to a significant failure at the then only processing center Uzcard, which is a private entity. Then there was a need for a state processing center to ensure the security of the national payment system and prevent monopoly dominance.

According to the Central Bank, as of 1 March 2024, more than 47.17 million plastic cards are in circulation in Uzbekistan. According to Humo, the national payment system has issued more than 23 million cards.

There are more than 200 thousand payment terminals and more than 12,000 ATMs for cash withdrawals throughout the country.