Uzbekistan Draws Investor Interest in Nuclear and Islamic Finance

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan, which has been strengthening its investment potential through reforms in recent years, is attracting growing interest from international financial institutions focused on Central Asia, particularly in Islamic finance and nuclear energy.

At the annual meeting of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), several speakers described the country as a promising market for new capital-raising instruments.

Uzbekistan was mentioned in connection with the construction of a nuclear medicine centre, a joint project with Russia's state-owned corporation Rosatom. One of Rosatom's three nuclear reactors is being built in Uzbekistan.

Sheikh Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), said nuclear power provides "zero emissions" over an operating lifespan of 60 to 80 years and is the most reliable source of baseload electricity compared with wind and solar power, particularly for a geographically large region with a relatively small population.

"Poverty is not the absence of money. Poverty is the absence of knowledge. And there is no knowledge without cheap electricity," he said.

Uzbekistan is also working to adapt its legislation to Islamic finance. Abdullah bin Haron of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) said the country is undertaking this effort alongside Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, although a fully developed ecosystem has yet to be established.

Among the factors attracting investors to Central Asia, Angela Cheng, Chief Macro Strategist at China Galaxy International Securities, highlighted the region's demographic profile. She said its young and rapidly growing population is reshaping consumer demand and creating long-term growth opportunities.

According to Cheng, global sovereign wealth funds and major institutional investors are actively seeking exposure to the region amid a geopolitical restructuring of investment portfolios.

Kazakhstan's Zaman Bank was the only commercial bank represented on the panel. Its Chairwoman of the Management Board, Gulfairuz Asayeva, said financial inclusion remains a key challenge, with a significant share of Central Asia's population still lacking access to banking services. She said Islamic banking could help expand financial access.

Participants in the session agreed that without an institutional ecosystem—including a regulatory framework, qualified specialists and harmonised standards—the scale of Islamic finance in the region will remain limited regardless of the ambitions that have been declared.