Uzbekistan NIF GDRs Rise 10% After London IPO

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Global depositary receipts (GDRs) of the National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan (UzNIF), listed on the London Stock Exchange, rose sharply in the first days of trading following its initial public offering.

According to exchange data, by the close of trading on May 15, the price of one depositary receipt reached US$27.5, which is 10% higher than the IPO price.

Total trading volume in UzNIF GDRs exceeded US$3.83 million. On the first day of trading, May 13, the receipts climbed to US$26. The following day, the rally accelerated, with quotes reaching US$27.2, an additional 4.6% increase, according to Uzbek broadcaster O’zbekiston 24.

Full trading in UzNIF securities on the London Stock Exchange is set to begin on May 18. On the same day, shares of the fund will start trading on the Republican Stock Exchange “Toshkent”.

Subscription for shares and global depositary receipts closed on May 12. The IPO price for one GDR was set at US$25, with each receipt corresponding to 64,700 fund shares. On the domestic market, shares were offered at 4.65 soums, while retail investors in Uzbekistan purchasing up to 12 billion soums worth of shares were offered a discounted price of 4.41 soums per share.

As part of the IPO, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan placed 1.56 trillion shares, representing 31% of the fund’s equity capital. A significant portion of the stake was sold to foreign institutional investors via GDRs, while retail investors and other market participants on the Tashkent Stock Exchange acquired nearly 48 billion shares.

The total amount raised through the offering reached US$603.6 million. With a total of 5.05 trillion shares outstanding, the fund’s market capitalization at the offering price is estimated at approximately US$1.95 billion.

Investor demand significantly exceeded supply. The order book for UzNIF shares was more than four times oversubscribed. Sole global coordinator of the IPO, Jefferies International Limited, retained the option to place an additional 15% of allocated GDRs, equivalent to 3.51 million receipts. This option may be exercised in full or in part within 30 days of the start of trading on the London Stock Exchange.

The IPO was announced on April 29 by the National Investment Fund. At that time, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said it planned to float about 30% of the fund’s shares simultaneously in London and Tashkent.

The entire offering was later oversubscribed. It was also reported that cornerstone investors, including BlackRock, Franklin Resources and Redwheel, confirmed participation in the IPO worth about US$300 million.

In late 2025, Marius Dan, CEO of Templeton Global Investments for Central Asia, said the fund’s portfolio companies were being transformed and prepared for a dual listing on international and domestic capital markets.