Dear Clients,

Please note that tomorrow, May 9th, is a non-trading day due to a national holiday - Memorial Day. Trading on the Stock Exchange will resume on Friday, May 10th.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to connect their energy systems to facilitate the sale of green energy to Europe.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/05/06/azerbaijan-kazakhstan-uzbekistan-plan-energy-interconnection/

Almalyk Mining JSC (AGMK) announced non-audited results of 1Q2024:
* Total assets increased by 23.6% y-o-y and reached 59.3tln UZS;
* Total equity increased by 50.9% and equaled 26.8bln UZS;
* Total liabilities increased by 7.4% and equaled 32.5tln UZS;
* Revenue declined by 5% and amounted to 6.6tln UZS;
* COGS increased by 3.3% and equaled 2.9tln UZS;
* EBIT grew by 10.2% to 3.1tln UZS;
* Net profit increased by 4.7% and amounted to 1.5tln UZS with a 22.3% margin;
* Estimated P/B ratio at the level of 11,000 UZS per share - 0.22;
* Estimated P/E ratio at the level of 11,000 UZS per share - 0.98

China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan Railway construction still has not started due to funding risks related to the project.

https://timesca.com/is-the-china-kyrgyzstan-uzbekistan-railway-project-losing-steam-again/

Alskom JSC (ALSM) announced non-audited the results of 1Q2024:
* Total assets increased by 40% y-o-y and to nearly 192bln UZS;
* Total equity rose to 61.2bln UZS with a 2,7% increase;
* Total liabilities increased by 1,7 times to 130.5bln UZS;
* Insurance reserves grew by 1.5 times and reached 123.2bln UZS;
* Revenues decreased by 1.5% to 25.3bln UZS;
* EBIT remained negative in 3M2024, at -1.35bln UZS;
* Net profit fell by 90% to more than 70 million UZS.
* Estimated P/B ratio at 1,630 UZS per share - 0.77;
* Estimated P/E ratio at 1,630 UZS per share - 21.18

Ritz-Carlton entering the Uzbek market.

https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2024/06/03/marriott-to-bring-the-ritz-carlton-to-uzbekistan/

Statista Market Insights forecasts labor productivity in Uzbekistan to grow by an average of 13.6% per year in the next five years.

https://uz.kursiv.media/2024-05-04/cherez-pyat-uzbekistanczy-budut-rabotat-v-dva-raza-produktivnee-no-ne-dogonyat-kazahstanczev/

Biokimyo JSC (BIOK) announced non-audited results of 1Q2024:
* Total assets increased by 30.6% y-o-y and reached 104.2bln UZS;
* Total equity reached 102.6bln UZS or 40.3% higher;
* Total liabilities decreased by 4.2 times and equaled 1.6bln UZS;
* Revenue decreased by 10.6% and amounted to 53.6bln UZS;
* COGS declined by 14.9% and equaled 38.8bln UZS;
* EBIT went down by only 0.2% to 10.6bln UZS;
* Net profit slightly decreased by 0.4% and amounted to 8.9bln UZS with a 16.7% margin;
* Estimated P/B ratio at the level of 18,000 UZS per share - 1.0;
* Estimated P/E ratio at the level of 18,000 UZS per share - 2.3.

A working group will be created under the Council of Foreign Investors.

https://www.spot.uz/ru/2024/05/03/work-groups/

Volume of POS payments and BNPL services to reach $1.5-2bln and total volume of non-cash payments to double by 2027.

https://www.spot.uz/ru/2024/05/02/fintech/

Textile exports reached 22% of the total exports and amounted to $3.3bln in 2022. Consumer products' share in export structure increased to 34%.

https://www.german-economic-team.com/en/newsletter/export-potential-of-uzbekistans-textiles/

Weekend reading: Uzbekistan's traditional carpets make a comeback.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Arts/Uzbekistan-s-traditional-carpets-make-a-comeback

Bi-weekly overview of stock exchange trading and news.

Chinese Universal Energy to construct two wind farms with a total capacity of 500MW in the Samarkand and Jizzakh regions.

https://www.gazeta.uz/en/2024/05/10/wind-farm/

Foreign reserves increased from $34.2bln to $35.1bln, including $1.2bln in gold.

https://cbu.uz/ru/statistics/intlreserves/1688819/

Nebras Power and Sojitz to build a wind farm with a total capacity of 1GW in the Navoi region.

https://www.spot.uz/ru/2024/05/07/green-energy/

Volume of payments in Payme increased by 13.6% and reached $0.9bln.

https://www.spot.uz/ru/2024/05/10/payme/