“Gold won’t keep rising forever”: Uzbekistan’s central bank discusses investment strategies with Wall Street giants

Odaily News: The Central Bank of Uzbekistan plans to invite some of Wall Street’s top international asset management institutions to discuss potential options for investing the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Timur Ishmetov, Governor of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, said in an interview in Tashkent that the central bank plans to hold a roundtable in mid-September, inviting representatives from institutions including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and JPMorgan to discuss potential investment channels. According to official data, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan’s reserves fell from $66.3 billion at the start of the year to $64.3 billion in July, with gold accounting for 87% of the total.

Data from the World Gold Council shows that in the first half of this year, Uzbekistan made net gold purchases of 41 tons, making it the world’s second-largest gold buyer during the period. “So far, gold has proven to be the best investment,” Ishmetov said. “In principle, we are satisfied with the current situation, but it won’t always be this way—gold prices won’t keep rising forever.” “Our primary goal is not simply to sell gold for profit,” Ishmetov said. However, he also noted that the central bank hopes to sell gold at favorable price levels. He added that the central bank has not yet decided to change its reserve structure, and the meeting with international asset management institutions will not necessarily lead to such a change. (Jin Shi)