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(Bloomberg) — Work on the initial public offering of Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Co. has been paused, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Uzbek government weighs the right moment to list one of the world’s largest gold miners.
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The IPO was expected to take place on the London and Tashkent exchanges. It is not clear when or if work is likely to restart, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
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Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s second-largest economy, has been considering privatization plans through share offerings, including on international markets, for about a year after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev published a decree outlining a dozen companies to be sold in the coming years.
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NMMC, as the gold miner is also known, was first on the list, but instead the National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan, known as UzNIF, started an IPO in London last month, with the deal expected to close next week.
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NMMC is strategically important for Uzbekistan. With 3.2 million ounces of output in 2025, it is the world’s fourth-largest producer, just shy of Canada’s Barrick Gold Corp. Revenue rose 46% to $10.8 billion last year, and profit before tax grew 71% to $6.1 billion, according to its annual report.
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Gold sales make up a major share of the nation’s exports, and the metal accounts for the majority of its international reserves and the central bank is one of the largest buyers of the precious metal. Gold hit a record above $5,500 an ounce in January and prices remain elevated.
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Officials are concerned the offering could reduce the substantial dividends the miner generates for the state budget, Bloomberg reported in November.
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A representative for NMMC said the decision to list rests fully with the company’s shareholder and, if taken, will be announced in due course. A representative for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which oversees Uzbekistan’s privatization program and owns NMMC, did not respond to a request for comment.
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Still, Uzbekistan is expected to pursue other IPOs after UzNIF, which is paving the way for the country’s entry into international capital markets. Uranium producer Navoiyuran and Uzbekistan Airways are among the names identified as IPO candidates in last year’s presidential decree.
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—With assistance from Sybilla Gross.
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English (US)