Uzbekistan offering investors up to 2% of shares in Uzbekneftegaz, IPO planned for year-end

TASHKENT. March 31 (Interfax) - Uzbekistan, as part of the planned IPO of Uzbekneftegaz, intends to offer investors up to 2% of the company's shares in 2023, Uzbekneftegaz said in a statement.

The shares will be privatized through a public auction on the local stock market through a "people's IPO" on a "one share - one lot" basis. Currently, work has begun on attracting underwriters and consultants.

A roadshow will be held throughout the country.

The conditions for the IPO of Uzbekneftegaz and 39 other enterprises were approved by a decree by the President of Uzbekistan dated March 24 "On additional measures to reduce state participation in the economy."

Earlier, the country's authorities spoke about the development of IPO plans not only in the local, but also in foreign markets. Rothschild & Cie was involved as a financial consultant to prepare for the IPO, Ernst and Young was the consultant for the audit evaluation of preparedness for the IPO, White & Case handled legal support, and PwC - corporate governance implementation. It was planned to offer investors at least 49% of Uzbekneftegaz shares.

"We are working, firstly, on the transformation of the structure. A lot of work is underway to optimize business processes, digitalize, and switch to new reporting. All this work is going according to plan, and we hope that in the near future, since we have already announced the relevant resolutions, we will move on to the next stage. We are first among large state-owned companies to be able to issue Eurobonds. We hope that we will also be the first with an IPO," Uzbekistan's head of the gas processing and gas chemistry department of Uzbekneftegaz, Alisher Bahadirov, said in June 2022, commenting on the details of preparations for the IPO.

He also noted that the division of the business into segments - production, processing and gas chemistry - is not planned: "We are strategically confident that the business should not be divided, because the interweaving that has developed over the years provides the greatest benefit when the business is whole and unified ".

Uzbekneftegaz is a vertically integrated company that brings together more than 50 specialized organizations, namely 13 joint ventures, 10 hydrocarbon production and processing units, and a number of coordinated non-production and scientific and technical units.