Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan’s National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity (UzNatsBank) and China International Capital Corporation (CICC) have agreed to cooperate on the Asian capital market, including the planned issuance and listing of international bonds equivalent to US$250 million on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The agreement was reached on 9–10 September 2026 during a visit to Hong Kong by an Uzbek delegation led by Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov. It was signed on the sidelines of the 11th Belt and Road Summit.
The planned issue will be one of UzNatsBank’s first entries into the Asian debt capital market and will expand the geographic reach of its international borrowing.
The agreement also provides for diversifying the bank’s funding sources and currency structure, broadening its international investor base and attracting resources from Asian capital markets to finance priority investment projects in Uzbekistan.
The new issue will continue UzNatsBank’s activity on international capital markets. Since 2020, the bank has completed three bond issues on the London and Vienna stock exchanges with a combined value of US$1.13 billion.
The agreement is aligned with the objectives of Uzbekistan’s 2026 state investment programme, which provides for UzNatsBank to attract up to US$1.5 billion from international financial institutions to implement priority projects in the country.
The agreement with CICC is also part of efforts to expand financial and economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and China. Bilateral trade turnover approached US$18 billion in 2025, with a target of increasing the figure to US$30 billion in the coming years.
The portfolio of active joint investment projects between Uzbekistan and China is worth about US$60 billion, while more than 6,000 joint ventures operate in Uzbekistan.
Against this backdrop, Uzbekistan is expanding cooperation with Chinese financial institutions and developing new mechanisms for attracting capital for investment projects.
Founded in 1991, UzNatsBank had assets of more than US$12 billion at the end of 2025, with a loan portfolio of US$9 billion and total capital exceeding US$1.6 billion.
China International Capital Corporation was established in 1995 and provides investment banking, capital markets and asset management services. The company has an international presence, including in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and New York.
