Photo: pochta.uz
The state-owned share in Uzbekistan’s national postal operator, UzPost (O‘zbekiston pochtasi, “Post of Uzbekistan”), has been privatized, reportedly purchased by a Russian marketplace, Gazeta.uz reports, citing its sources.
According to the publication, the new shareholder may be the Russian e-commerce platform Wildberries. There has been no official confirmation, and it remains unclear whether all necessary documents have been finalized and what exact portion of the state’s stake was sold.
Earlier, under Uzbekistan’s 2025 privatization program, it was planned to offer 29.4 percent of UzPost shares—previously owned by Alokabank—for public sale. In June, Alokabank and the Ministry of Economy and Finance were removed from the list of UzPost’s affiliated entities. They were replaced by the Agency for State Asset Management (AUGA), the National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan (UzNIF), and several legal entities in which AUGA holds more than a 20 percent share. Each of these new affiliated parties now owns at least 20 percent of UzPost’s shares.
On September 19, a presidential decree transferred a 25 percent state stake in UzPost, previously held by the National Investment Fund, to the Agency for State Asset Management.
Before the sale, the company’s authorized capital was increased. In June, a closed subscription was approved for 7,615,444 shares—representing 27.8 percent of the total—valued at 14.5 billion soms (approximately $1.2 million) at a nominal price of 1,905 soms ($0.15) per share. The issue was registered on September 26, raising UzPost’s charter capital from 38.06 million to 52.56 billion soms ($3.1 million to $4.3 million).
The placement price was set at 10,150 soms ($0.80) per share—five times higher than nominal value. All shares were placed through a closed subscription between the issuer and its shareholder, the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Payment for the securities was made by contributing 50 post office buildings in Tashkent, valued at 77.3 billion soms (about $6.3 million), to UzPost’s charter capital. These properties had previously been managed by the Center for Municipal Asset Management under the Tashkent city administration.
UzPost’s market capitalization is estimated at 285.9 billion soms (over $23 million).
As of publication, neither the Agency for State Asset Management nor UzPost had issued official comments on the reported deal.
UzPost JSC is Uzbekistan’s national postal operator, founded in 1992 and reorganized as a joint-stock company in 2014. The company manages a network of 14 regional branches and more than 1,600 postal offices, employing over 7,000 people. In 2023, UzPost reported a net profit of 809.7 million soms (about $65,800), and in 2024, 843.9 million soms (about $68,600) on total revenue of 603.5 billion soms (around $49 million).
