If you follow frontier markets, here is a milestone: Uzbekistan's Tourism Entertainment Group, active across hotels, tourism and events, now trades in the U.S. It got there via a reverse takeover involving StageWise Strategies Corp., which trades on the OTCID Basic Market. Following the deal, the free float sits below 1%.
TEG aims to raise money by December, a move expected to push the portion of shares available to the public to about 10% of its equity, according to Chief Financial Officer Temur Zokirov. "Our ambition is to capitalize on the strong growth of Uzbekistan's tourism industry and establish TEG as a leading hospitality platform in the region," he said. To prepare the offering and expand its reach with investors, the company has engaged a Kingswood US affiliate and Tashkent-based Bluestone. The money raised will fund growth in Uzbekistan through acquisitions and building new hotels and other facilities.
Last year, TEG posted almost $43 million in revenue, while EBITDA rose 84% year over year to nearly $23 million, based on a company presentation. TEG belongs to AKFA Group - among the biggest privately held conglomerates in Central Asia - and is owned by Uzbek entrepreneur Jakhongir Artikkhodjaev, the former mayor of Tashkent. Its lineup includes Hilton Tashkent City, the biggest contributor to profits, the Central Asian Expo complex that stages major gatherings such as the Tashkent International Investment Forum, and the Wyndham Bukhara hotel.
Uzbekistan ranks among the faster growing economies worldwide and has been drawing more attention from international investors. The government and several major companies have tapped European markets for years, and a state-owned fund wrapped its first IPO in London this year. During President Donald Trump's tenure, the U.S. intensified moves to broaden its footprint and strengthen economic links with Central Asia.
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Tourism momentum is strong too: more visitors are heading to Silk Road hubs like Bukhara and Samarkand, and global hotel brands such as Marriott, Hyatt, Radisson, and Accor are already operating in the country. Uzbekistan has also boosted its visibility by hosting the Bukhara Biennial, the FIA Awards in Tashkent, which gathered champions from Formula 1 as well as other motorsport series, and prominent international conferences in Samarkand. For your wallet, the through line is simple: a bigger tourism pie can mean more rooms filled, more events on the calendar and, if execution holds, stronger cash generation for operators building out capacity.
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