Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan’s Competition and Consumer Protection Committee will refuse approval for the creation of state enterprises and their affiliated companies in markets where five or more private businesses are already operating. The committee will also assess competition annually in sectors involving state-owned companies planned for privatisation and propose which state institutions should be privatised, liquidated or retained. The changes were introduced by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 520 dated 29 September 2026.
The document was adopted to implement the laws on the management of state property and privatisation of state property, as well as Presidential Resolution No. PP-123 of 8 February 2022 on accelerating reforms of state institutions. Its aim is to accelerate the reduction of the state’s participation in the economy and develop a healthy competitive environment.
When approval for a state company will be refused
Amendments were made to the regulation governing the procedure for obtaining preliminary approval from the antimonopoly authority for the creation and reorganisation of enterprises with state participation and their affiliates, changes to their activities, and their acquisition of shares and stakes.
Under the new version, the committee will refuse approval for the creation or reorganisation of a company in which the state owns more than 50% or a larger stake than any other shareholder, as well as for a change in its type of activity, if it does not meet any of the state property ownership criteria established by Article 10 of the Law on the Management of State Property.
Even if a company meets those criteria or does not fall into this category, approval will be refused in four cases.
The first is when a state-owned enterprise or its affiliate is established in a competitive sector where five or more private businesses are already operating in the relevant goods or financial market.
The second is when its founders are government authorities, hokimiyats, state institutions authorised to issue licences or permits or carry out registration or accreditation, or state targeted funds that plan to engage in the same activity.
The third case concerns a company whose founder is the sole supplier or holds a dominant position, if the new company will use the founder’s goods, resources or infrastructure while competing with private businesses. An exception is made for the separation of such companies from the founder’s structure, provided they are given equal conditions with competitors.
The fourth case is when a state enterprise plans to engage in ancillary activities unrelated to its core business in a competitive sector or acquire stakes in other companies operating in such a sector. The last two restrictions do not apply if the creation of the company is provided for by presidential decrees and resolutions or Cabinet of Ministers decisions.
Competition assessment before privatisation
The resolution also approved regulations governing how the antimonopoly authority prepares conclusions on companies whose state stakes are planned for privatisation and proposals concerning state institutions.
The Agency for Management of State Assets will annually submit to the committee, by 1 September, a list of assets proposed for privatisation in the following year. The list will include the name, taxpayer identification number, organisational and legal form, address, size of the state stake, state body holding the stake and net revenue for the previous year.
Within 30 days, the committee will request information from state bodies on the level of competition in the relevant markets. After another 15 days, it will distribute the assets by territory and instruct its regional offices to prepare preliminary conclusions.
The committee will submit its final conclusion on the list to the agency by 1 December. The agency will take it into account when preparing the annual privatisation programme and, within two months, will inform the committee in writing which assets were not included in the programme and why. The committee will review the list within two months, conduct additional analysis and, if necessary, submit proposals.
What will happen to state institutions
The agency will provide information on state institutions to the committee annually by 15 January, including their founders and sectors of activity. The committee will conduct an analysis by 15 April and submit proposals to the agency through the Davlat mulki information system by 1 May. It may propose that an institution be privatised, liquidated or retained.
Institutions that do not meet the criteria for state property ownership will be proposed for privatisation or liquidation. The remaining institutions will be proposed for privatisation, liquidation or retention depending on the level of competition in their respective sectors. The agency will review the proposals and submit them to the Cabinet of Ministers by 1 September.
Data exchange between the agency and the committee will be conducted electronically through the integration of their information systems. Both agencies are required to ensure the confidentiality of the information they receive.
