Uzbekistan Attracts Record 12 Billion Dollar FDI Commitment at Tashkent Investment Forum, Pivoting to Manufacturing

Background

Uzbekistan's economic transformation since Shavkat Mirziyoyev became president in 2016 following Islam Karimov's death represents one of the most ambitious policy experiments in post-Soviet space. Karimov's Uzbekistan was characterised by a closed economy with strict currency controls, heavy state ownership of strategic industries, rigid restrictions on private enterprise, and one of the most controlled borders in the former Soviet Union. Mirziyoyev's reform programme, launched systematically from 2017, liberalised the currency regime, eliminated most border restrictions, privatised significant portions of the state enterprise sector, simplified business registration, and launched an ambitious infrastructure investment programme. The reforms produced sustained GDP growth rates of 5 to 6 percent annually through the early 2020s, even through the COVID-19 disruption, and generated increasing interest from international investors in Uzbekistan as a manufacturing and services location. By 2024, Uzbekistan was consistently ranked among the fastest reforming economies in emerging market assessments, with improvements in the World Bank's Doing Business indicators and international credit ratings moving from speculative to investment grade. The country's large and young population, approximately 37 million with a median age of 27, provides a substantial labour force with improving educational attainment, and its geographic position at the centre of Central Asia with connections to China, Russia, Iran, and the South Caucasus gives it logistical importance for regional trade corridors.

Forum Outcomes

The Tashkent Investment Forum, now in its eighth year, has become the primary venue through which Uzbekistan presents its investment climate and attracts international capital commitments. The October 14, 2026 forum was the largest yet by any measure, attracting 1,800 registered participants from 72 countries and producing 47 signed investment agreements totalling 12.2 billion dollars. The largest single commitment, valued at 2.1 billion dollars, came from a South Korean consortium led by Hyundai Motors and including Hyundai Mobis and POSCO Steel, committing to the construction of a vehicle assembly plant and component manufacturing facility in the Tashkent special economic zone, targeting annual production of 150,000 vehicles primarily for Central Asian and Russian markets. Samsung Electronics committed 800 million dollars to a consumer electronics assembly facility, the company's first Central Asian manufacturing presence, which will produce smartphones, home appliances, and display products under a preferential tax arrangement. European commitments included 600 million dollars from Siemens Energy for wind turbine component manufacturing and 400 million from Volkswagen's commercial vehicle division for a bus and truck assembly plant. Chinese investments focused on chemical processing, with Sinopec and a private Zhejiang industrial conglomerate committing a combined 1.4 billion dollars to petrochemical and polymer production facilities that will process Uzbek natural gas into higher-value industrial inputs.

• 47 investment agreements totalling 12.2 billion dollars signed at the 2026 forum.
• Hyundai consortium: 2.1 billion dollar vehicle assembly and component plant, 150,000 annual units.
• Samsung: 800 million dollar consumer electronics assembly, first Central Asian manufacturing presence.
• Chinese petrochemical investment: 1.4 billion dollars in Sinopec and Zhejiang group facilities.

Development Strategy and Challenges

President Mirziyoyev's presentation of the revised economic development strategy at the forum outlined a target of increasing manufacturing's share of GDP from 14 percent in 2025 to 25 percent by 2030, a transformation that would require sustaining annual FDI inflows of 8 to 10 billion dollars alongside significant domestic investment and infrastructure upgrades. The strategy identifies four priority manufacturing sectors: automotive and transport equipment, electronics and technology hardware, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and food processing and agribusiness. Each sector has dedicated special economic zones with preferential tax treatment, streamlined customs procedures, and pre-developed infrastructure including industrial parks, logistics facilities, and workforce training centres. The challenges facing the strategy are substantial. Uzbekistan's logistics infrastructure remains inadequate for large-scale manufacturing exports, with rail capacity constrained and road infrastructure uneven. The country is landlocked and dependent on transit agreements with neighbours whose reliability varies. The financial system is developing but shallow, creating difficulties for domestic companies seeking to participate in supply chains linked to international manufacturers. Workforce quality, while improving, still faces gaps in technical and engineering skills that manufacturing investment requires. Governance improvements under Mirziyoyev have been real but incomplete, with corruption remaining a concern for international investors at levels below the headline political leadership. The competition for Central Asian manufacturing investment from Vietnam-connected supply chains, India's emerging manufacturing sector, and Mexico's nearshoring trend in North America means that Uzbekistan must continue improving its investment climate rapidly to maintain its current momentum.

Sources

• Reuters
• World Bank Uzbekistan
• EBRD
• Kun.uz
• Asian Development Bank