The Central Asian country makes efforts to improve its investment climate after more than two decades of economic isolation that kept foreign private businesses at a distance. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made the attraction of foreign investors one of the top priorities of his ambitious reform agenda.

Kazakhstan's National Bank said it had kept the key policy rate unchanged at 9 percent, marking the fifth consecutive hold, after having cut it by 50 basis points in July 2020.

Uzbekistan’s state-owned carmaker UzAuto Motors plans to issue $300 million of Eurobonds to tap international financial markets.

Kazakhstan has flooded international TV channels with flashy advertisements trumpeting the country’s investment climate.

Uzbekistan’s government has signed a $1.2 billion worth investment agreement with Dutch company Stone City Energy for the construction of a new thermal power plant in the ex-Soviet country, in a bid to attract foreign investors and develop the energy sector.