Official statistical reports indicate that the total number of operational enterprises involving foreign investments in Uzbekistan has reached 22,029 as of October 1st. While this expansion highlights the country's ongoing integration into global trade, economic observers warn that increasing exposure to external capital markets may introduce structural vulnerabilities and intensified competition for domestic enterprises.

Out of the total registered entities, 4,851 operate as joint ventures, while 17,178 function entirely as foreign-owned enterprises. When compared to the same period of the previous year, the total volume of such structures expanded by 4,841 units, representing a significant 28.2 percent growth. Over the past five years, this metric has reportedly multiplied by 1.5 times, reflecting a steady influx of international business players.

China has firmly secured the top position in terms of the number of active companies, outpacing traditional regional partners with 6,649 registered entities, which accounts for roughly 30.2 percent of all foreign-backed businesses in the country. Russia follows in second place with 3,690 companies, while Turkey holds the third spot with 2,410 entities. Notably, the count of Chinese-backed enterprises currently exceeds that of Russian counterparts by approximately 1.8 times.

The leading top ten list is further populated by Kazakhstan (1,378), South Korea (744), Afghanistan (740), Azerbaijan (519), Tajikistan (490), the United Arab Emirates (472), and India (455). Nevertheless, market analysts point out that these figures exclusively reflect the quantitative presence of active legal entities rather than the actual monetary volume of capital inflows or the economic productivity of these investments.

Source: kun.uz