Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan’s national postal operator O’zbekiston pochtasi (UzPost) is considering obtaining an interest-free credit line of 360 billion soums from Wildberries, State Assets Management Agency (SAMA) Director Sohibjon Murodov said at a press conference on 8 October.
According to Murodov, the parties have reached preliminary agreements. The credit line does not mean that the entire amount will automatically be borrowed. Funds would be used as needed and might not be required at all.
Earlier, a proposal for UzPost to take out a 100 billion soum loan from Wildberries at an annual interest rate of 14% was put on the agenda. However, no vote was held on the proposal. SAMA requested that the postal operator justify the need for the borrowed funds and explain how the loan would be repaid. UzPost subsequently resumed negotiations with its partners.
Murodov stressed that all expenditure financed through borrowed funds would be assessed for effectiveness.
Meanwhile, representatives of Wildberries joined UzPost’s supervisory board at SAMA’s invitation.
Five company representatives were given a majority of seats on the board in connection with the planned provision of interest-free financing.
According to the SAMA head, the changes did not affect UzPost’s executive body or the state’s position as shareholder. The supervisory board is not involved in the company’s day-to-day management and instead focuses on strategic matters.
Murodov explained that Wildberries representatives had been brought in to apply their experience in developing the postal operator’s strategy and improving the efficiency of borrowed funds.
Cooperation with the Wildberries representatives is governed by a fixed-term contract. Depending on the results, the arrangement may be extended, or SAMA may consider alternative management approaches.
Murodov also reported a significant decline in UzPost’s revenue after the discontinuation of paper notices informing citizens about administrative fines.
Previously, delivering fine notices was one source of income for the postal operator. Following the transition to electronic notifications, the Interior Ministry and commercial banks began informing citizens about outstanding debts and administrative fines through mobile applications.
According to Murodov, the discontinuation of paper notices cost UzPost 50–60 billion soums in revenue from this service alone.
“Digitalisation has eliminated the need for this service. The postal operator has suffered substantial financial losses,” the SAMA head said.
Under UzPost’s financial recovery programme for 2025, one of the key priorities was introducing modern corporate governance mechanisms. Murodov said this was necessary amid growing competition from private companies, including Uzum and Wildberries, and a declining market share for UzPost.
Since 1 March, UzPost has stopped delivering paper notices of fines for traffic violations.
The Interior Ministry said the transition to electronic notifications was intended to reduce human involvement in communicating fine decisions, increase public trust and make the process more convenient for citizens.
