How do Uzbek authorities envision the new Tashkent International Financial Center?

**The Uzbek Government's Vision for the New Tashkent International Financial Center**

The Tashkent International Financial Center (TIFC) is designed to serve as a link between the Uzbek economy and global capital, providing local companies with access to longer-term and more affordable financing and foreign investors with a familiar legal and financial environment. This vision was presented on August 24 at the Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum by Abror Mirzo Olimov, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, and Nodirjon Juraev, Project Coordinator in the Presidential Administration.

Abror Mirzo Olimov emphasized that the key function of the future financial center is "connectivity." He noted: "For me, the Tashkent International Financial Center should be primarily about connectivity. It should connect our companies and financial institutions with international financial organizations and the international market." According to him, the goal is to expand domestic companies' access to financial instruments and, over time, transform Tashkent into a hub connecting all of Central Asia with international financial markets.

Olimov also noted that the financial center isn't being created from scratch, as the country already has a functioning banking system, a developing capital market, significant international reserves, and is seeing growth in foreign trade and investment. The next step, he believes, is creating an infrastructure that will allow businesses to attract "long-term and affordable capital" and facilitate integration into the global financial system.

Nodirjon Zhurayev also described the TIFC as a "gateway" to Uzbekistan's economy. He stated that the country's economy grew by 7.7% in 2025, and that a new financial services infrastructure is needed to maintain this growth rate. Through the center, Uzbek entrepreneurs should receive not only financial resources but also international expertise. "Our goal is to make the Tashkent International Financial Center a gateway to the economy of Uzbekistan," stated Zhuraev.

One of the key features of the project is the creation of a separate legal and regulatory space within the country. Zhuraev emphasized that the TIFC will be a territory with a special legal regime and its own institutional infrastructure. "Within this territory and this legal regime, the powers of national regulators will not apply," he noted. According to him, the Central Bank or the National Agency for Prospective Projects will not directly regulate TIFC participants; a separate regulatory system is being created for this purpose.

The Financial Services Authority will be the primary financial regulator, vested with financial, administrative, and operational independence by law. Its powers include licensing, prudential supervision, regulation of digital assets, investor protection, combating money laundering, and oversight of financial infrastructure. Interference in its regulatory activities, except in cases expressly provided for by law, is prohibited.

However, the separation of jurisdictions is not absolute. If a TIFC participant begins providing services to companies and individuals outside the center's territory, Uzbek law, including national tax regulations, will apply. The rules for such interaction have yet to be jointly developed by the financial center, the Central Bank, and the National Association of Commercial Police (NAPP). The law also provides for joint work between the Financial Services Authority and the Central Bank when providing services to residents outside the TIFC.

For foreign investors, the authorities are striving to create a legal environment familiar to them from other international financial centers. Zhuraev stated that English common law will apply at the TIFC, and an independent regulator and a separate international commercial court will operate. "We are creating a very familiar infrastructure for them," he explained. Constitutional law establishes the sequence of applicable law: after the Constitution, the TIFC Law, individual presidential acts, and decisions of the financial center itself, common law, principles, and rules of equity of England and Wales may be applied, if necessary, unless they conflict with superior laws. The Tashkent International Commercial Court is being established within the center, which is guaranteed financial, administrative, and operational independence by law.

One of the elements of the TIFC will be a currency exchange regime. "They will be able to work with any currency within the TIFC. There are no currency restrictions," said Zhurayev. This, he believes, will allow correspondent banks to be attracted for more than just dollar transactions: financial institutions from China, Singapore, Japan, and other countries will be able to work with clients in their own currencies. The law stipulates that the monetary obligations of participants may be expressed and fulfilled in a foreign currency agreed upon by the parties. General requirements for mandatory registration of certain foreign exchange contracts, capital movement transactions, and foreign accounts may not apply to transactions within the TIFC. Free currency conversion and capital repatriation must also be ensured.

"The legislative framework of the TIFC allows its participants to use cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange," Zhurayev emphasized. The text of the law uses a broader definition of digital assets. It permits the expression and execution of monetary obligations in digital assets within the limits determined by the center's decisions and the rules of the Financial Services Authority. Trading, storage, clearing, settlements, fund creation, and the operation of digital asset exchanges are also permitted, subject to permits.

Zhurayev also cited the tax regime as one of the factors making the TIFC attractive. According to the law, TIFC bodies and certain organizations, as well as qualified participants meeting economic presence requirements and other criteria for income from financial services, are exempt from income tax and social tax until January 1, 2076. Similar benefits are provided for a number of ancillary services. Non-resident employees are exempt from personal income tax on income earned at the center.

Abror Mirzo Olimov emphasized during the discussion that special legislation and tax incentives are not sufficient to create a functioning financial center. "You can have excellent legislation, a comprehensive legal framework, or a very attractive tax regime, but without a developed and convenient financial infrastructure, it won't work," he noted. The Central Bank identifies three key elements: a developed payment system, a developed capital market, and a developed banking system. According to Olimov, this is where the role of the Central Bank and the banking system will be critical.

**Sandbox for Fintech**

Zhuraev announced plans to create his own regulatory sandbox—a regime in which new financial products can be tested before their full market launch. He suggested that implementing innovations in the TIFC would be easier than under standard national regulation, since "national regulators are usually somewhat conservative." The constitutional law grants the Financial Services Authority the right to create and oversee regulatory sandboxes for fintech, digital assets, regtech, insurtech, and other innovative financial services.

A separate section of the discussion was devoted to the capital market and asset management. Zhurayev stated that the authorities are not currently planning to create another national stock exchange at the TIFC. "We are not considering creating a new exchange. Rather, we will allow our national exchange to operate at the TIFC," he said. However, the question of allowing foreign exchanges to operate at the center remains open. "Perhaps our national exchange will not be the only one operating there. Perhaps we will consider allowing other international exchanges to operate within the TIFC," Zhurayev added. The law explicitly includes the activities of stock exchanges, clearing organizations, depositories, and trading platforms within the center's regulatory framework.

The National Investment Fund (UzNIF) was discussed as one of the first examples of Uzbekistan's entry into international capital markets. In May, the fund conducted the first international IPO for an Uzbek state-owned issuer on the London Stock Exchange. The placement raised over $690 million, with bids from international investors exceeding $2.8 billion. Zhuraev noted that the fund's portfolio includes stakes in 13 state-owned companies. He believes that UzNIF's experience should improve the corporate governance of these enterprises and be useful in the future privatization of other state assets. He sees a second effect in the development of domestic investors: public participation in such placements should gradually accustom citizens to investing in stocks and other capital market instruments.

For the Central Bank, Olimov cited macroeconomic and financial stability as the foundation for attracting capital to the TMFC. He explained that investors need the ability to plan their activities several years in advance, which requires low inflation and a predictable monetary policy. Olimov stated that the Central Bank expects inflation to decline to approximately 6.5% by the end of 2026 and to reach the target of 5% in 2027. Another factor is the exchange rate. Olimov stated that Uzbekistan had transitioned to a fully floating exchange rate, and the sum strengthened against the dollar by approximately 7% for the first time in 2025. These statements are also supported by the IMF. The IMF reclassified Uzbekistan's effective exchange rate regime from crawl-like to floating in 2026, following increased exchange rate flexibility since April 2025. The sum strengthened against the dollar by 6.9% in 2025.

A separate task of the center should be personnel development. Zhurayev noted that, initially, the TIFC intends to attract experienced specialists from other international financial centers. They will then transfer their expertise to local staff. To this end, a special academy is planned to be established where young specialists will be trained in international financial instruments and financial technologies. According to Zhurayev, Uzbekistan already has specialists who have received financial education abroad, but the appropriate domestic environment for some of the skills they acquired has not yet been available. The TIFC, according to the authorities, is intended to create such an infrastructure.

At the end of the discussion, the moderator asked the speakers to imagine August 2031 and outline the criteria by which they would determine whether the TIFC had been a success in its first five years. Olimov cited several indicators: the number of participants, market liquidity, and the volume of capital raised. "I hope that in three to five years, there will be more local and international participants, the market will become more liquid, and our companies will be able to attract more capital through the Tashkent International Financial Center," he said. Zhuraev offered more specific benchmarks: "In five years, I believe the TIFC will have attracted at least $25 billion in investment, created more than 10,000 high-paying jobs, and the TIFC's institutional structure will be fully operational and attracting new investors."