DIRECTIONS FOR ADAPTING FOREIGN EXPERIENCE TO THE PRACTICE OF JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES IN UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

This article provides an extended examination of the directions for adapting international experience to the practice of joint-stock companies (JSCs) in Uzbekistan. Drawing on the comparative corporate-governance and corporate-finance literature, it reviews the theoretical foundations of governance — the separation of ownership and control, agency costs, and the law-and-finance approach — and contrasts the Anglo-American (market-based) and continental German–Japanese (bank-based) governance models. It then surveys the experience of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, and the CIS countries, and analyzes international best practice in seven functional areas: board structure and corporate governance, the capital market and free float, dividend policy, disclosure and financial reporting, the protection of minority shareholders, the development of institutional investors, and sustainability (ESG) reporting. Against this background, the article diagnoses the principal weaknesses of Uzbek JSCs — a high state share and low free float, an unstable dividend policy, limited transparency, an incomplete transition to international financial reporting standards, and weak minority-shareholder protection — and formulates a set of concrete, prioritized, and properly sequenced directions for reform. The central argument is that foreign experience should not be transplanted mechanically but adapted selectively to the legal and institutional environment of the country. The findings offer a practical framework for raising the investment attractiveness, transparency, and capitalization of Uzbek JSCs and for accelerating the development of the national capital market.