Foreign investment in Uzbekistan: China gains ground on Russia with over 1,000 new companies

As of September 1, there were 14,562 enterprises with foreign capital operating in Uzbekistan, according to the State Statistics Agency.

Over the past two months, the number of such companies increased by 682. The majority of the growth occurred in July, with 386 new companies, compared to 296 in August.

Russia remains in the lead with 3,006 joint ventures and subsidiaries. This is 34 more than at the beginning of August and 95 more than in July. However, compared to last year, the increase is only 157 companies.

China is now nearly on par with Russia, with 2,982 companies. Since July, the number of Chinese-invested firms has grown by approximately 150 per month, and by 1,053 over the past year.

Turkey holds third place with 1,836 companies (+117 for the year), with an increase of 37 companies in July and 14 in August. Kazakhstan is in fourth place with 1,070 companies (+121 for the year), with only 5 new companies opened in August compared to 22 in July.

South Korea ranks fifth with 670 companies, but the number of South Korean firms has decreased by 26 over the past year. Following them are the U.S. with 305 companies (+11), Tajikistan with 302 (+56), Kyrgyzstan with 277 (+24), Azerbaijan with 243 (+43), and Germany with 223 companies (+22).

Almost two-thirds of companies with foreign investments are registered in Tashkent. Outside the capital, the highest numbers are found in the Tashkent region (1,641), Samarkand (570), and Fergana regions (475).

In terms of industries, trade leads with over 5,000 joint and foreign-owned companies. It is followed by manufacturing (3,206), construction (1,055), and IT (1,003).