Uzbekistan's banks will be allowed to directly buy commercial real estate from developers

On February 7, at a meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, dedicated to the development of the services market, a new decision was approved: commercial banks in Uzbekistan will be granted the right to directly purchase commercial real estate from developers.

New business support mechanism

Over the past three years, 3,000 apartment buildings have been built in Uzbekistan, and the total area of commercial real estate has increased by 38 million square meters. According to the new rules, developers will be able to transfer 10-15% of the territories of new residential areas to the category of commercial real estate.

However, today there is no effective system connecting developers and entrepreneurs. The new mechanism will allow banks to purchase such facilities and provide them to businesses for rent or leasing on favorable terms.

Economic impact

It is expected that 50 thousand square meters of commercial real estate will enter the market thanks to this decision. This will allow:

• attract 70 billion soums to the budget;
• create 100-150 thousand new jobs;
• reduce the cost of leasing by 15-20% compared to renting, which will make commercial real estate more affordable for entrepreneurs.

Development of the service market

The President instructed the responsible structures to develop together with developers a package of projects worth 4 trillion soums. Under these projects, commercial real estate will be leased to designated sectors of the economy.

The Head of State noted that a large-scale program for the development of the service sector, launched three years ago, is already yielding tangible results. During this time, an additional 1.5 million people received a permanent income in the service sector, and the market volume increased 3.5 times — from $ 19 billion in 2018 to $ 65 billion in 2023.

The measures taken are aimed at further stimulating business activity and strengthening the economy of Uzbekistan.