The high cost of financing in Uzbekistan is encouraging companies to raise funds on external markets, where borrowing is cheaper. This was stated on September 17 by Abdulla Abdukodirov, First Deputy Director of the Agency for Strategic Development and Reforms (ASDR), during the plenary session of the VIII International Cbonds Conference “Capital Market of the Republic of Uzbekistan”, Spot correspondent reports.
According to him, over the past 10 years, the main drivers of the securities market have been privatization and the development of corporate securities, particularly shares. Now, Eurobonds and other debt instruments are beginning to play this role.
“The cost of money in the domestic market today fluctuates around 20−22%, while on the external market, funds can be raised at a much lower cost”, Abdukodirov said.
He noted that the difference between the domestic and external cost of financing is prompting corporations with sufficient liquidity and stable markets for their products to turn to external markets to raise funds. According to him, this trend is also reflected in the government’s actions, as it increasingly borrows on external markets.
Abdukodirov added that Uzbekistan’s external public debt has already exceeded $40 billion, while total external debt, including corporate-sector borrowing, stands at more than $82 billion. According to him, external debt is growing very rapidly, which also demonstrates the difference in the cost of raising funds on domestic and external markets.
“This is the main indicator showing that the cost of money on the external market is much lower”, the ASDR First Deputy Director noted.
At the same time, the official noted that the government and state institutions, including banks and enterprises, remain the main players in the securities market. According to him, they account for the majority of issuers of securities currently traded on the market.
The English version of this material was generated with the assistance of AI translation tools and may differ slightly from the original text.
