The Dehkanabad Potash Plant, a major chemical industry enterprise located in the Kashkadarya region, has been privatized in a closed manner, despite a presidential decree stipulating that the plant should be put up for open sale.
According to a decision by the company’s shareholders on August 8, the plant was privatized without an open auction. This was noted by the author of the Telegram channel “KorpInfo.”
The decision states that ownership of shares in the authorized capital of “Dehkanabad Potash Plant” and 100% of the shares have been transferred to Asian Chemical Group. Notably, this company was registered only 9 months ago—in November 2024—and has an authorized capital of only 10 million soums. The founder of the company is OV Industrial Investments L.L.C-FZ, and the head is Valiullin Ilgiz Azatovich.
The capital of the Dehkanabad Potash Plant amounts to 2.7 trillion soums. The enterprise was built in 2007 for $128.2 million, mainly through borrowed funds: $61.7 million was allocated by the Fund for Reconstruction and Development, $41.7 million by the Export-Import Bank of China, and another $24.8 million by the Fund for the Development and Support of the Chemical Industry. The plant’s net profit in 2024 amounted to 44.8 billion soums (approximately $3.5 million).
It is unknown for what amount and under what conditions the enterprise was transferred to private hands. However, according to a presidential decree dated April 26, 2024, the Dehkanabad Potash Plant was to be privatized on the international market through public trading.
The decree states that the State Assets Management Agency, in accordance with the program for privatization and reform of chemical industry enterprises, must complete the privatization of the state-owned shares of Dehkanabad Potash Plant JSC by the end of 2024.
In reality, the plant was sold neither within the established timeframe nor on the open market. The State Assets Management Agency has not yet provided official comments on this matter.
The Dehkanabad Potash Plant is not the first major state asset in Uzbekistan to be sold without open and transparent bidding. Previously, similar privatizations occurred with assets such as “Kyzylkumcement,” the UNG Petro network of gas stations, the Chinaz Oil Refinery, the Angren Tire Plant, the Fergana Oil Refinery, and others.