Uzbekistan’s government has formally inaugurated its fourth special economic zone, located in the Khorezm region, with the explicit goal of attracting Turkish, Korean, and Indian investment in textile and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The terms are aggressive by regional standards: 15-year corporate tax holidays for qualifying enterprises, full repatriation of profits, and streamlined customs procedures. Tashkent is betting that the post-pandemic relocation of manufacturing capacity from China will prefer a politically stable, English-friendly destination over its more cautious neighbors.
Early commitments include a $180m textile facility from a Turkish consortium and a generic pharmaceuticals plant backed by Indian investors.