_BIOGRAPHY Saidabror Saydakhmedov joined the Joint-Stock Innovation Commercial Bank "Ipak Yuli" in 2005 and held a series of positions between 2006 and 2010. He served as Head of the Mirzo Ulugbek branch from 2010 to 2018, and has been Chairman of the Management Board since 2018. He holds a BSc and an MA in International Monetary and Credit Relations from the Tashkent State University of Economics.

“REACHING OUR 35-YEAR MILESTONE IS BOTH A MOMENT OF REFLECTION AND A POINT OF ACCELERATION.”

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AFTER ITS FOUNDING, HOW DO YOU ASSESS THE BANK'S POSITION AND WHAT DOES THE THINK BIG REBRAND SIGNAL FOR THE NEXT PHASE?

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Reaching our 35-year milestone is both a moment of reflection and a point of acceleration. From being Uzbekistan's first private bank, we have evolved into a systemically relevant institution with a diversified client base, strong international partnerships, and recognized credit ratings. This trajectory reflects not only resilience but also our ability to continuously adapt to the country's economic transformation. Today, we see ourselves as a growth platform rather than simply a bank.

Our scale, millions of clients, extensive infrastructure, and trusted international shareholders, positions us uniquely between global capital and local opportunity. The Think Big rebrand is not a slogan; it is a strategic shift. It signals our ambition to move beyond incremental growth toward ecosystem-level impact.

This means scaling digital innovation, expanding access to finance, and thinking in terms of long-term value creation for clients and partners. In essence, it reflects our confidence in Uzbekistan's future and our intention to play a leading role in shaping it.

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THERE IS GROWING MARKET INTEREST IN UZBEK BANKS ACCESSING INTERNATIONAL EQUITY MARKETS. HOW DOES IPAK YULI VIEW THE PROSPECT OF AN INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING?

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An IPO is firmly part of our long-term strategic horizon, and we are actively preparing for it. Listing on a recognised international exchange is the natural next step for a bank of our profile and ambition. As a matter of principle, we support the idea of an offshore listing - it brings depth of liquidity, a broader and more diverse investor base, more rigorous disclosure standards, and the visibility within the global investor community that only an international venue can offer.

We see an offshore IPO as the right vehicle to diversify our shareholder base beyond our existing development-finance partners, to deepen the equity story we have been telling for years, and to anchor Ipak Yuli more firmly within the international financial community.

COULD YOU INDICATE WHEN INVESTORS MIGHT EXPECT THAT STEP?

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We will not put a fixed date on it today. An IPO is too consequential a milestone to be driven by calendar pressure rather than genuine readiness. We are working through the prerequisites that determine the right moment: the scale of the bank's balance sheet, the quality, predictability and resilience of earnings, and the broader market environment.

On the governance and reporting side, I would note that, thanks to the long-standing presence of foreign institutional shareholders, our corporate governance framework, internal controls and financial disclosure practices are already at a level of maturity that public markets expect - that prerequisite we have largely addressed.

The discipline we apply is straightforward: as soon as we are ready in terms of size and the other relevant factors, we will move forward with the IPO. Until then, our priority remains building a bank that international investors will be glad to own for the long term.

UZBEKISTAN HAS JUST ENACTED A COMPREHENSIVE ISLAMIC BANKING LAW. HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THIS FOR YOUR BANK, AND WHAT IS IPAK YULI'S TRACK RECORD IN THIS AREA?

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This is a defining moment for Uzbekistan's financial system. With Law No. ZRU-1126 on Islamic Banking Activity signed by the President on 27 March 2026 and entering into force on 29 June 2026, our country has placed Islamic finance on equal footing with conventional banking.

The Government has shown genuine political will and is doing substantial work to create the proper infrastructure: tax neutrality through VAT exemption on financing activity of Islamic banks, the planned the establishment of the Islamic Finance Council under the Central Bank, CBU's membership in the IFSB, and close coordination with AAOIFI and the Islamic Development Bank Group on standards and supervision.

We have a strong will to implement Islamic finance because we see it as the most vivid, lived example of ethical finance. Ipak Yuli is, in fact, one of the pioneers in this space: as far back as 2006, we onboarded a dedicated financing line from the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private-sector arm of the IsDB Group, deployed through the Murabaha instrument to support our SME clients. Close to two decades of operational track record under that line gives us a foundation that few peers in the country can match.

WHAT ARE IPAK YULI'S CONCRETE PLANS FOR THE ISLAMIC WINDOW, AND ON WHAT TIMELINE?

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Our objective is clear and deliberate: we are doing our best to be among the pioneer banks in Uzbekistan and to receive the Islamic Window licence from the Central Bank and commence operations by the end of 2026. We are preparing on three parallel tracks. First, governance: we are forming an independent Shariah Board with members qualified under AAOIFI fit-and-proper criteria, and a dedicated internal Shariah-compliance and audit function.

Second, infrastructure: we are upgrading our core banking system to accommodate a separate Islamic ledger, profit-sharing engines for Mudarabah deposits. Third, products and people: we have selected our launch product set and we are training the team that will originate, settle and service them.

To open a fully licensed Islamic Window in our country is, for us, a responsibility we take seriously, both to our customers and to the broader market we are helping to build.

THE BANK HAS RECENTLY ADOPTED A COMPREHENSIVE ESG STRATEGY. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN PRACTICE, AND HOW DOES IT REFLECT IPAK YULI'S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE-DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES?

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Sustainability sits at the core of how we view our role as a bank. We have recently adopted a comprehensive ESG strategy that integrates environmental, social and governance considerations across the way we lend, the way we operate, and the way we report to stakeholders.

Climate-related risk assessment is being embedded in our credit process; green and energy-efficient projects receive dedicated financing tracks; and our social agenda is focused on financial inclusion - access to finance for women entrepreneurs, MSMEs, and underserved regions of the country.

Our DFI shareholders have been instrumental partners on this journey, helping us align with IFC Performance Standards, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For us, sustainability is not a public-relations exercise - it is a long-term commitment to the country, to our clients, and to the responsible deployment of capital.

We see a strong natural synergy between this ESG framework and Islamic finance, because both are rooted in ethical, real-economy investment, and we expect the two agendas to reinforce one another as the bank moves forward.