Uzbekistan national wealth fund confirms plan for London IPO
Uzbekistan’s national wealth fund has confirmed plans to plough ahead with a London IPO in what will be the country’s first ever public market debut.
In an update to the stock exchange on Thursday, the National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uznif) announced it expected to float on both London and Tashkent stock exchanges as part of a nationwide push to open up the historically protectionist country to private capital.
The $2.4bn (£1.79bn) fund was only established in 2024 and is managed by investment juggernaut Franklin Templeton. It owns stakes in Uzbekistan’s sprawling network of state-owned companies, including Uzbekistan Airways and its national grid.
The country’s national miner, Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Co, is also expected to announce a bumper London listing this year.
Uznif’s intention to float comes a year after a presidential decree outlining several state-backed companies and organisations in the Central Asian economy were lining up for public market debuts. Other candidates are understood to include e-commerce platform Uzum and Uzbek logistics firm Centrum.
“The proposed IPO of the national investment fund represents a defining moment for Uzbekistan’s capital markets,” said Marius Dan, chief executive of Central Asia, Templeton Global Investments.
“We have built a diversified portfolio, including some of the nation’s most strategic assets, governed by international standards and managed with a singular focus: to unlock value. This offering is your gateway to participating in the rapid modernisation and robust growth of one of Central Asia’s most dynamic economies.”
Uzbek fund to be first major IPO for London in 2026
The announcement means Uznif is likely to become the first major company to float on London’s main market this year. The exchange has suffered from a five-month dry spell of public debuts after a securing flurry of fresh listings from the likes of Shawbrook and Princes Tuna towards the end of 2025.
Other major IPO prospects expected to come to London this year include book publisher Waterstones and RAC. The largest candidate is Scandinavian software company Vizma, which had been lining up a bumper £17.5bn float going into the new year. But its plans for a listing in the near future have been put on ice as a result of the so-called Saas-pocolypse, whereby software companies have been sold off sharply on fears their business models are vulnerable to disruption from AI.
Currently Uzbekistan’s finance ministry is the sole shareholder of Uznif.