Foreign business presence in Uzbekistan hits new peak as Chinese investment accelerates

17:04 / 20.07.20262964 min

The number of companies with foreign investment operating in Uzbekistan has reached a new record, surpassing 20,000 for the first time, according to the National Statistics Committee. Chinese-backed businesses continued to account for the largest share of new registrations, while the number of companies established with Pakistani investors nearly doubled over the past year.

Foreign business presence in Uzbekistan hits new peak as Chinese investment accelerates

As of July 1, Uzbekistan had 20,502 operating enterprises with non-resident founders. Their number increased by 581 over the previous month and by 3,817 compared with a year earlier, representing annual growth of 22.9%.

Foreign-owned companies continued to dominate the total, with their number reaching 15,891, up 26.5% year-on-year. The number of joint ventures rose to 4,611 after increasing by 111 during June and by 487 compared with July 2025.

China further widened its lead over other countries by the number of businesses with foreign capital. Uzbekistan is now home to 6,060 companies with Chinese participation, accounting for nearly 30% of all foreign-invested enterprises. Of those, 259 were established in June alone.

Over the past year, the number of Chinese-backed companies increased by 1,868, or 44.5%, accounting for nearly half of the overall annual growth in foreign-invested enterprises.

Russia ranked second with 3,454 operating companies, representing 16.8% of the total. Their number increased by just five during June and by 356 over the past year, or 11.5%.

Russian businesses nevertheless retained the lead in the number of joint ventures, with 941 compared to 863 involving Chinese investors. However, over the past year, Chinese companies established 216 new joint ventures, while businesses with Russian participation launched around six times fewer.

Turkey ranked third with 2,293 companies, including 523 joint ventures. During June, 56 new enterprises began operations, bringing annual growth to 286 companies, or 14.25%.

Kazakhstan followed with 1,307 companies after adding 24 businesses in June and 150 over the past year, equivalent to 12.9% growth. South Korea remained fifth with 725 companies, including four new registrations during the month and an annual increase of 38 companies, or 5.5%.

Afghanistan also continued to expand its business presence in Uzbekistan. As of early July, 685 companies with Afghan founders were operating in the country, 12 more than a month earlier and five more than in the summer of 2025.

The number of companies with Azerbaijani participation rose sharply to 473, marking annual growth of 59.2%. Thirteen of those companies were established in June alone.