The National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP) has registered JSC Bank of Georgia, one of the largest banks in Georgia and a regional custodian bank, as the first participant in the special legal regime "Regulatory Sandbox" of the capital market of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Bank of Georgia is a subsidiary of Bank of Georgia Group PLC, listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: BGEO) with a current market capitalization exceeding £2.1 billion and a member of the FTSE 250 Index. As of September 30, 2023, Bank of Georgia Group PLC's assets amounted to $11.5 billion USD.

The major shareholders of the parent company, Bank of Georgia Group PLC, include large international and global investment funds and investment companies such as Georgia Capital JSC, M&G Investment Management Ltd., BlackRock, JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd., The Vanguard Group, Inc. and Schroder Investment Management Ltd., among others.

Bank of Georgia also acts as a local sub-custodian bank in securities markets of Georgia and Armenia for three of the largest global custodian banks and the International Central Securities Depository (ICSD) Clearstream, headquartered in Luxembourg.

In accordance with the Regulation on the Procedure for Granting a Special Legal Regime "Regulatory Sandbox" in the capital market, as a participant in the special regime, Bank of Georgia is authorized to open and operate a securities account as a foreign nominal holder at the JSC "Central Securities Depository" and the JSC "Republican Currency Exchange of Uzbekistan". It is also authorized to keep a cash account in local and foreign currency at the Central Bank of Uzbekistan without obtaining an additional license.

At the initial stage, Bank of Georgia is planning to participate in the Uzbek domestic market for government securities by acquiring UZS denominated government bonds for its clients - large non-resident institutional investors. In the next stage, Bank of Georgia is contemplating the possibility of expanding its activities and providing custody services to its clients in the Uzbek corporate securities market (stocks and corporate bonds).

The NAPP believes that Bank of Georgia's participation in the special legal regime "Regulatory Sandbox" will facilitate attracting large-scale portfolio investments to the securities market of Uzbekistan, with Bank of Georgia acting as an intermediary for global custodians, international depositories, foreign investors and investment intermediaries.

Bank of Georgia is registered as a participant of the special regime in accordance with the Regulation on the Procedure for Granting a Special Legal Regime "Regulatory Sandbox" in the capital market.