FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN UZBEKISTAN: MEASUREMENT GAPS, SOURCES AND REMAINING BARRIERS

Abstract

This article examines foreign direct investment (FDI) in Uzbekistan after the reforms that began in 2017. The first part reviews the theories that explain why firms invest abroad and under what conditions a host country actually benefits from their presence. The second part compares two indicators that are often confused in public discussion: the national figure for “foreign investment and loans”, which the government put at about USD 35 billion for 2024, and balance-of-payments FDI inflows, which UNCTAD estimates at USD 2.8 billion for the same year. The gap is explained mainly by differences in methodology rather than by an error in either source. The paper then looks at the country and sector structure of FDI and at the obstacles that foreign companies still report, including the strong position of state-owned enterprises, slow enforcement of court decisions and the ban on land ownership by foreigners. It concludes that further growth of FDI will depend less on new tax privileges than on stable and predictable rules, and it offers several practical recommendations.