OREANDA-NEWS. On January 29, 2009 Moody's Investors Service assigned a first-time insurance financial strength rating of B1 to Uzbekinvest a.s. The rating outlook is stable, reported the Official website www.investuzbekistan.uz.

Uzbekinvest is a State-owned insurer in Uzbekistan with the mission of 'Assisting in stimulation of foreign investments attraction into the economy of Uzbekistan and growth of export potential through reliable insurance protection against political, natural and combined risks'. However, provision of this insurance is only a small part of the business, with direct insurance within the domestic market comprising the vast majority of premium

Uzbekinvest was established in April 1994, and reorganized into the national import-export insurer in February 1997. The company is 100% owned by the Republic of Uzbekistan through a 83.3% direct shareholding and 16.7% through the National Bank for Foreign Activity of Uzbekistan (Ba3/NP/Stable BFSR:E+).

Moody's notes the main standalone strengths of Uzbekinvest are its extremely strong capitalization in relation to insurance risk, its dominant position in Export-Credit insurance and strong position in domestic insurance provision. Its ownership by the State provides competitive advantage and the State guarantee of export-credit risks are viewed positively, as is Uzbekinvest's relationship with AIG both locally and in the UK based joint-venture which provides underwriting and other technical support.

Moody's notes the main challenges are I) exposure to Uzbekistan which is a small economy with little risk diversification and with a developing legal, regulatory and political structure II) developing the risk management functions as the size and complexity of the business grows.
 
Moody's added that upward rating pressure may evolve over time from 1) continued improvements in underwriting and risk management systems and controls 2) through improvements in the Uzbekistan economic environment.

On the other hand, the rating may experience downward pressure from 1) a change in the relationship with AIG, in particular in respect of reductions in the provision of local support in Uzbekistan or changes to the joint-venture in London and, 2) significant deterioration in the Uzbekistan economic environment, 3) changes to the investment policy, particularly if there are significant shifts to lower-rated bonds or increased local equity/property market investments.
 
At 31 December 2007 Uzbekinvest had net assets of 196 billion soums (USD 152 million) and gross written premium of 16.3 billion soums. Net income (before minorities) was 11.7 billion soums.