State Owned Enterprises in Uzbekistan: Issues and Reform Options

This paper provides an overview of the role of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Uzbekistan, examining their economic footprint, financial performance, and reform trajectory. It describes how SOEs play a prominent role in the economy while interacting closely with public finances through various forms of support and the creation of fiscal risks. The paper reviews recent reforms to SOE governance, transparency, and privatization frameworks, and discusses areas of progress and challenge. Drawing on international experience, it concludes that advancing SOE reforms will require clarifying the state’s ownership role, reducing SOE presence in non-strategic and competitive sectors, and strengthening governance, transparency, and incentives in enterprises remaining under state ownership to support private sector-led growth.