UzNIF, the $2.4bn National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan managed by Franklin Templeton, has declared its intention to float on the London and Tashkent stock exchanges. Marius Dan, CEO, Central Asia at Templeton Global Investments, said the proposed initial public offer (IPO) was “a defining moment” for Uzbekistan’s capital markets. “UzNIF has a strong and diversified portfolio of strategic assets in Uzbekistan, managed with a singular focus on unlocking value. The company is at the heart of Uzbekistan’s dynamic reforms that are driving the country’s rapid GDP growth.” Transportation accounts for 32.4% of investments, followed by energy production (19.1%), telecommunications (15.2%), utilities (14.9%) and banking (13.4%).
QuotedData’s Matthew Read said: “In a market that has largely been devoid of IPOs for some time, this proposal from the National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan to list in London is certainly eye-catching. Assuming it gets away successfully, UzNIF could offer investors a rare opportunity to get exposure to the reform story in Uzbekistan through a listed-vehicle. The fund should benefit from a sizeable and diversified portfolio of strategic assets as well as Franklin Templeton’s experience in similar situations, most notably with Fondul Proprietatea in Romania. The challenge, as ever, will be whether investors are prepared to look through the complexity, governance risk and country risk that inevitably come with a vehicle like this. Still, for London, which has not seen too many genuinely distinctive new listings of late, this would at least be something a bit different.”
Aurora UK Alpha (ARR) says its net asset value tumbled 12.1% in March, severely underperforming the 6.7% decline in the FTSE All Share in response to the conflict in the Middle East. Fund manager Gary Channon said holdings such as housebuilder Barratt were hit by fears that the Bank of England would hike interest rates four times in response to the inflationary impact of higher oil prices. The value investor said this was “misconstrued” as the central bank would be reluctant to respond to what could be a transitory effect on inflation. He indicated he had reduced his holding in Lloyds bank, which rerated strongly last year, and added to Barratt which stood at 60% of book value at 31 March. Its position in the fund rose to 14.4% from 13% at the end of February with Lloyds cut to 8.4% from 12.4%.
Capital Gearing Trust (CGT), the £785m capital preservation fund, saw net asset value fall 1.7% in March as the US and Israeli war on Iran rocked markets. The company said it remained defensively positioned with a focus on inflation protection. “Concerns remain around the outlook for increasing deficits, stretched equity valuations and elevated inflation”, it said. Inflation-linked bonds, in which the fund is 45% invested, made the largest positive contribution (0.2%) to performance.
Unite (UTG) says rising bond yields knocked the valuations of its UK Student Accommodation Fund by 1.7% and its London Student Accommodation Joint Venture with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC by 2.4% in the first quarter. It spent £85m of a £100m share buyback programme launched in January with further returns of capital expected as it looks to sell another £500m of assets in the next six-to-12 months on top of the £130m of disposals already made. It maintained its guidance for occupancy and rental growth to be at the lower end of 93-96% and 2-3% ranges for the 2026/27 academic year. The integration of last year’s acquisition of Empiric Student Living continued to progress well with £3m of annualised savings achieved out of a £9m target for this year.
Fair Oaks Income (FAIR) has published a circular for an extraordinary general meeting on 30 April for shareholders to vote on its proposals to move its reporting to euros from dollars and to undergo a one-for-10 share consolidation.
Supermarket Income (SUPR) chief executive Robert Abraham bought 30,342 shares on Wednesday at between 82.3p and 82.5p. The purchase takes his total holding to 256,744 shares and comes as the price recovers from its fall in response to the war in the Middle East. From 88.6p at the end of February, SUPR fell to 78.2p on 27 March.
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