Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Finance in Uzbekistan: Challenges and Opportunities

Figure 16: Average Size of Microfinance Services 
 
Source: Central bank of Uzbekistan. 

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ADBI Working Paper 997 
D. Tadjibaeva 
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Figure 17: Nonbanking Finance Institution Loans in Bank Lending 
Source: Central bank of Uzbekistan. 
The government may want to consider developing a mechanism of linking MCOs to 
banks as MCOs could play a complementary role to that of banks in terms of reaching 
those types of customers that may not be accessible to banks. Even though MCOs are 
technically allowed to receive loans from banks for further on-lending, strict collateral 
requirements limit MCO borrowing from banks, and thus an alternative mechanism may 
be necessary. 
Leasing. Leasing is another source of SME finance. Leasing provides a viable substitute 
for loans to finance equipment. Leasing costs more than bank lending but fewer 
guarantees are required from the borrower.
As of January 1 2018, there are 126 officially registered lessors of which 104 are leasing 
companies, the majority of which are state owned and 24 are commercial banks. The 
largest players in the Uzbek leasing market are state-owned companies. including: 
“Uzagroleasing,” the largest leasing company focusing on agricultural equipment, 
“Uzmelyomashleasing” company leases irrigation equipment, and “Uzavtosanoat” 
involved in leasing commercial vehicles. 
The clientele for leasing in Uzbekistan includes a growing array of service sectors 
including: large construction companies (which are engaged in building construction, 
power plants, and road development, for example); transport companies; chemical 
companies; medical service providers; manufacturers; and traders.
The leasing companies primarily focused on providing high-tech equipment as part of 
the state program implementation of modernization of state-owned industrial enterprises. 
As Table 8 illustrates, 78.2% of the leasing portfolio belongs to the leasing companies, 
the volume of leasing transactions in 2017 comprised SUM2.68 trillion ($337.5 million).
However, the leasing share to GDP during 2013−2017 amounted to less than 1%, that 
is less than half the median leasing volume of countries in the same income range as 
Uzbekistan (see Figure 18). In this context, it seems that the sector is underdeveloped 
for the size of Uzbekistan’s economy.

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ADBI Working Paper 997 
D. Tadjibaeva 
18