Uzbekistan Prepares New Capital Market Law

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — A press conference on a new draft Law "On the Capital Market" was held at the National Agency for Prospective Projects of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The bill provides for expanding the range of financial instruments, developing market infrastructure, and improving state regulation.

The event was attended by Saibjan Khudaiberdiyev, Head of the Capital Market Development Department; Saulat Toreshov, Head of the Capital Market Regulation Department; and Valeriy Lee, Head of the Capital Market Ecosystem Development and Regulatory Innovation Division.

Khudaiberdiyev noted that the bill was developed to fulfill tasks set out in Decree of the President of Uzbekistan No. UP-22 dated 16 February 2026 and Presidential Resolution No. PP-109 dated 4 March 2024. In the President's Address to the Oliy Majlis and the people of Uzbekistan, the capital market was identified as an important institutional element of economic growth.

The objectives set include attracting global depositories to the national stock market and adopting a new law in cooperation with international financial institutions.

Toreshov presented the main provisions of the bill and changes aimed at expanding opportunities for investors and increasing market compliance with international standards.

According to the data presented, the volume of share issuances in Uzbekistan increased from 189.7 trillion soums in 2023 to 265.1 trillion soums in 2025, reaching 269.4 trillion soums by 1 July 2026. Over the same period, the volume of corporate bond issuances grew from 1.06 trillion to 3.93 trillion soums, exceeding 7 trillion soums by 1 July 2026.

Total trading volume on the stock exchange increased nearly sixfold from 2023 to 2025, rising from 2.9 trillion to 17.6 trillion soums.

The draft of the new law consists of 16 chapters and 123 articles. During its preparation, current legislation was reviewed taking into account modern market requirements and international practice. The EBRD, IFC, ADB, Islamic Development Bank, UNDP, IOSCO, US Department of Commerce, and SEC participated in the development, alongside state bodies, professional market participants, and representatives of market infrastructure.

One of the main innovations will be the expansion of the list of financial instruments. The bill provides for the introduction of options, swaps, futures, forwards, and contracts for difference. It also proposes to regulate covered bonds, securitized bonds, sustainable development bonds, and sukuk securities.

Special attention is paid to sukuk, a financial instrument that complies with the principles of Islamic finance.

The bill provides for legal regulation of the issuance and circulation of sukuk, including partnership, ijara, trade, and agency types. To protect investors' rights, it is proposed to introduce the institution of a representative of sukuk holders and a special mechanism to confirm the compliance of transactions with Islamic finance standards.

The bill also provides for the development of capital market infrastructure. In particular, it proposes licensing custodial activities and the activities of a central counterparty, expanding the powers of the Central Securities Depository, and introducing the institutions of self-regulatory organizations and a representative of bondholders.

According to Toreshov, increasing the number and types of professional participants and bringing their activities in line with international standards should create conditions to attract large foreign institutional investors.

A separate block of the bill is dedicated to state regulation and supervision of the capital market in accordance with IOSCO principles. It provides for expanding the supervisory powers of the authorized body, as well as the possibility of applying financial sanctions and other measures upon detecting violations.

In addition, it is proposed to establish at the legislative level the possibility of issuing bonds of international financial institutions in Uzbekistan and to create conditions for domestic companies to enter foreign capital markets.

Following the press conference, it was noted that the adoption of the new law should help attract additional investments into the economy of Uzbekistan and expand financial opportunities for the population and businesses.