Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Qishloq Qurilish Bank and Avesta Investment Group, as part of the Second Economic Forum of Uzbekistan in Samarkand, signed an agreement to start the process of additional public offering (FPO) of the bank’s shares on the domestic market on the site of Uzbekistan Stock Exchange (UZSE).

The placement will be a debut for the banking sector of Uzbekistan and will initiate an active process of privatization of the country’s banking sector through public mechanisms with the involvement of a wide range of citizens and institutional investors of the country, as well as international investors.

The successful holding of the Economic Forum and the high level of interest of foreign institutional investors to participate in it confirms the effectiveness of the development strategy of Uzbekistan and the steps taken by the government along this path, incl. in terms of development and liberalization of the banking services market. The process of offering shares to investors should create another attractive investment vehicle for minority portfolio investors on the market.

The signing of this agreement launches a campaign to prepare the bank, its management and staff for the active phase of the FPO, including the preparation of an information memorandum, the initiation of changes in the bank’s corporate governance structure, the approval of a dividend policy, an active road-show for citizens and institutional investors in the Republic of Uzbekistan and international portfolio investors.

The bank hopes that the work done will allow to conduct a successful FPO among a wide range of investors during the first half of 2023 and increase the volume of the bank’s free-float shares by about 5%.

In the future, the Bank plans to intensify work in the field of work with inspectors and announce a number of public events that will allow potential investors to better understand the structure, development dynamics and goals of the bank’s transformation.

Avesta Investment Group, together with Qishloq Qurilish Bank, hopes that the FPO of the Bank’s shares will become an important milestone in the development and establishment of the local capital market, and will also allow a large number of citizens of the country to gain access to participation in the capital of the leading financial institution of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Within the framework of the event, agreements were signed on the line of interbank credit and trade financing between Qishloq Qurilish Bank and international financial institutions.

Among other things, the following agreements have been signed:

To attract credit funds from Cargill Financial Services International, Inc. (USA) in the amount of US$20 million.

On trade finance in the amount of US$10 million with the Islamic Corporation for International Trade Finance (Saudi Arabia).

Also, within the framework of the forum, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and Qishloq Qurilish Bank, giving the right to participate in the state’s primary auctions.