He recalled that Uzbekistan signed a memorandum with Citigroup Inc. to develop a road map for obtaining a sovereign credit rating.

Finance Minister said that there is a “high chance” of a bond sale in either dollars or euros this year.

The government will choose two among the three major credit assessors and plans to publish its sovereign rating if it gets a “good” review, according to Kuchkarov. The sale of between US$200 million and US$300 million would be aimed at creating a benchmark for Uzbek corporate borrowers, he said.

The amount is still under discussion and the president will have the final say, the finance minister said.

“We want Uzbek companies to also be in the international financial market,” Kuchkarov said. “Our aim is to turn Uzbek companies into modern corporations.”