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Moody's upgrades Uzbekinvest's insurance financial strength rating

Uzbekistan Materials 7 November 2015 15:05 (UTC +04:00)
Moody's Investors Service international rating agency upgraded the insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) of Uzbekinvest national insurance company by one notch to Ba3 from B1
Moody's upgrades Uzbekinvest's insurance financial strength rating

Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Nov. 7

By Demir Azizov- Trend:

Moody's Investors Service international rating agency upgraded the insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) of Uzbekinvest national insurance company by one notch to Ba3 from B1, said the website of the agency.

The rating outlook is stable, according to the agency.

The upgrade of Uzbekinvest's IFSR to Ba3 is underpinned by the country's persistently strong economic growth, which continues to be less volatile than in some other Commonwealth of Independent States countries, as the government re-channels a significant portion of its revenues into the economy through various budgetary spending mechanisms.

Moody's still expect official economic growth to average 6.3 percent in 2015-16, supported by large government infrastructure projects and other initiatives.

Other key credit strengths are: the group's strong position in domestic insurance; its ownership by the state and the state guarantee of export-credit risks provides it with a competitive advantage; and good asset quality with almost half of the group's overall capital invested in high quality US denominated fixed income securities.

The stable outlook also reflects the stability of Uzbekistan's macroeconomic environment, which is relatively diversified. The outlook on Uzbekinvest is also consistent with the stable outlook on the Uzbek banking system, to which the company has a significant exposure via its local investments portfolio.

Uzbekinvest, headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, had total assets of 302 billion soums ($125 million) and total shareholders' equity of 243 billion soums ($100 million) as at December 31, 2014.

Uzbekinvest is 100 percent owned by the Republic of Uzbekistan (83.3 percent via direct shareholding and 16.7 percent through the National Bank of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekinvest was established by the government to assist in the stimulation of foreign investments into the economy and growth of exports through the provision of reliable insurance protection against political, natural and combined risks. Uzbekinvest is also tasked with educating the public of the benefits of insurance and providing capacity in the market.

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