Turkish commercial vehicle maker Anadolu Isuzu has acquired a 75.2% stake in previously state-owned carmaker SamAuto for $80 million, Uzbek authorities said on Thursday.
Uzbekistan's State Assets Management Agency said that Anadolu Isuzu had pledged to invest an additional $80 million in the facility.
The agency said in a statement that the move would "create a regional transport hub in Uzbekistan," exporting buses to Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
SamAuto's minority shareholders are Japan's Itochu Corporation and Isuzu Motors Ltd, each holding 12.4%.
Uzbekistan has pursued a program of economic reform since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power in 2016, even as politics in the country of almost 40 million people remains tightly controlled.
