Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Competition Development Committee is due to approve an agreement to merge Uzum and Click. This was stated by the head of the regulator Shahrukh Sharakhmetov.

On 12 June, Click and Uzum announced that they had signed an agreement on the steps to merge.

Shahrukh Sharakhmetov said that preparing companies for a merger is a normal practice. According to him, Uzum and Click have entered into a preliminary agreement.

Now they must prepare the documents and submit to the committee for permission and the conclusion of the final agreement.

The head of the committee noted that the Committee for the Development of Competition should approve the merger of the companies, as they are major players in the market.

“I can’t say for sure whether we will give permission for the merger or not, because we need to conduct a study. They must provide information about their assets, turnover, competitors in the market. We will ask the opinion of other competitors in the market. Whether we give permission or not, this will be known later,” he said.

At the same time, he noted that more than 50 payment systems operate in Uzbekistan. Also, citizens can use the services of banks.

“However, if they unite without our permission, we will punish them,” said Shahrukh Sharakhmetov.