On 17 August, the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan hosted a roundtable meeting, which discussed rating as a powerful tool for attracting investors, UzReport.cpm reported.

Thanks to fast economic growth, the financial sector of Uzbekistan is observing dynamic development. The interest of foreign investors in the Uzbek market rises accordingly. Meanwhile, these investors naturally want up-to-date objective information about the market participants, their financial stability, reliability, performance, etc.

The rating of the banks by the international and national rating agencies is an important precondition for further successful development of the financial system and its integration with the world financial-economic system. In the conditions of market economy, rating serves as a convenient tool for the investors, clients, partners and the rating entities themselves. It provides an objective picture of the market situation, the condition of market participants, their relative strength against a certain criteria. Rating is not only the indicator of the entity’s financial strength and competitiveness, it is also an efficient tool in attraction of investors, a PR-instrument that helps form a positive image about the company in the market.

On 17 August, the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan hosted a roundtable meeting, which discussed rating as a powerful tool in attracting investors. The Ministry of Finance organised the event together with the Association of Professional Insurance Market Participants, the Centre for Coordination and Control over the Functioning of Securities Market, the Association of Leasing Companies and Credit Unions, Expert RA Rating Agency (Russia) and SAIPRO Company (Uzbekistan).

The representatives of Uzbek insurance companies, banks, leasing companies and credit unions participated in the meeting.

Opening the event, Deputy Minister of Finance of Uzbekistan Bahrom Ashrafhanov said: "We hoped to gather here all the representatives of banks, insurance, leasing companies and credit unions. One of the main goals currently set in the country is systematic reform of the financial system, particularly, the markets for banking services, insurance, leasing, crediting. These markets are developing intensively, the competition is growing stronger. The process is positive and natural. But without the trust of third parties in the system, particularly the trust of investors, there is no way for development. Rating serves this particular purpose."

During the event participants examined international experience in obtaining the rating, and discussed the possibilities of raising the investment attractiveness of financial institutions and interested companies with the assistance of the independent ratings. The case of the Russian Expert RA was studied in detail.

"The agency’s analysts suggest that among the factors that positively affect the rating are low, compared to average levels, loss ratios and the proportions of operational expenses. High liquidity and solvency margin indicators, the quality of the reinsurance portfolio of the company provide a positive affect on the company’s financial stability. Moreover, the specialists of the agency note high level of the return on the insurance company’s assets; high importance is attributed to the capital adequacy ratio," Director-General of the Expert RA Dmitriy Grishankov said.

Among others who spoke at the seminar was the Manager of the Department for Rating of Financial Institutions of the Expert RA Pavel Samiev. The head of the State Inspection for Insurance Supervision under the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan Olimjon Ikramov spoke about the role and place of rating organizations in raising the transparency of the country’s financial market. The Director of the Association of Professional Participants of the Insurance Market Miradil Mirsadikov told about the methods of rating the insurance companies. The Manager of the Financial Analysis and Rating Department of SAIPRO Company Bahadir Halbaev made a report on the principles of attribution of the rating to insurance companies and the use of this instrument for the attraction of investors. The Director of the Association of Leasing Companies Zafar Mustafaev spoke about the need for leasing companies to use the rating tool for their benefit. At the end of the seminar in an official ceremony eight insurance companies received SAIPRO Company’s rating certificates.

Discussion and the summing up of results followed the ceremony. The attribution of rating is not only of interest to the owners and partners of banks, their regulating bodies and the borrowers, it also serves as an indicator of the organisation’s financial stability, and in this sense may be strongly considered by foreign investors. "It is better to have a negative rating than to have none," Halbaev said closing his speech.