Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The National Agency for Prospective Projects registered JSC Bank of Georgia, one of the largest banks in Georgia and a regional custodian bank, as the first participant in the special legal regime “Regulatory Sandbox” in the field of capital market of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Bank of Georgia is a subsidiary of Bank of Georgia Group PLC, listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of over £2.1 billion and a member of the FTSE 250 Index. The assets of Bank of Georgia Group PLC as of 30 September 2023 amounted to US$11.5 billion.

The main shareholders of Bank of Georgia are large international investment funds and companies, such as Georgia Capital JSC, M&G Investment Management Ltd., BlackRock, JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd., The Vanguard Group, Inc. Schroder Investment Management Ltd. and others.

In accordance with the Regulations on the procedure for providing a special legal regime “Regulatory Sandbox” in the field of the capital market, the Bank of Georgia, as a participant in the special regime, has the right to open and manage a securities account (depo) as a foreign nominee holder in JSC Central Depository securities" and the depository of JSC "Republican Currency Exchange of Uzbekistan", as well as have a cash account in local and foreign currency with the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan without the need to obtain an additional license.

At the initial stage, Bank of Georgia plans to participate in the domestic government securities market of Uzbekistan by purchasing government bonds issued in soums for its clients - large foreign institutional investors.

At the next stage, the special regime participant is considering the possibility of expanding its activities and providing services to its clients in the corporate securities market (shares and corporate bonds) of Uzbekistan.

NAPP believes that the participation of the Bank of Georgia in the special legal regime “Regulatory Sandbox” will allow it to attract large portfolio investments to the securities market of Uzbekistan, acting as an intermediary for global custodians, international depositories, foreign investors and investment intermediaries.

Bank of Georgia is registered as a participant in the special regime in accordance with the Regulations on the procedure for granting the special legal regime “Regulatory Sandbox” in the field of the capital market.