Private investors will be attracted to major universities and republican medical centers of Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, large higher education institutions and republican specialized medical centers are planned to be commercialized in stages. They will be transformed into business companies, and private investors will be attracted, including through the sale of share packages at public auctions.
Large Universities and Republican Medical Centers of Uzbekistan to Attract Private Investors
In Uzbekistan, large higher education institutions and republican specialized medical centers are planned to be phased into commercialization. This is provided for by the presidential decree of August 28 on reducing state participation in the economy and accelerating privatization.
According to the document, they will be transformed into business entities, and private investors are intended to be attracted to their activities.
One of the ways to attract private capital will be putting up blocks of shares in the authorized capital of such organizations for public auction.
At the same time, the document does not provide a list of universities and medical centers that will be affected by the transformation, nor does it specify the sizes of the share packages that may be offered to investors, or the specific timeframe for implementing this measure.
In September 2025, the president ordered to study the possibility of attracting foreign professional managers to five medical centers (there are 24 of them in total across the republic) or transferring them to the management of foreign clinics. The practice at the Republican Center of Oncology and Radiology, where Turkish specialists work, was cited as a successful example.
State institutions engaged in commercial activities must be transformed into business entities by December 1, 2026. An exception is provided for institutions whose activities relate to managerial, socio-cultural, or other non-commercial spheres.
In addition, a ban is being introduced on the creation of state institutions that do not have a source of funding from the state budget. This norm does not apply to institutions related to defense and security, as well as to cases separately provided for by decisions of the president.
Another change concerns non-core organizations in the form of institutions that are part of the system of enterprises with state participation. It has been ordered to spin them off from such enterprises, transform them into business entities, and put them up for public auction.
The measures are part of a new package to reduce state participation in the economy. The decree provides for the sale of state shares in 84 business entities, 1,242 real estate properties, and about 8,000 hectares of land plots.
In addition, the liquidation and reorganization of 85 enterprises with state participation are planned. For these, governing bodies must make decisions on liquidation or reorganization by November 1, and the procedures themselves must be completed by the end of 2026, except in cases where insolvency legislation applies.