Ayuna Nechaeva: “Capital Favours Transparency”

LSEG’s Strategy for Emerging Europe and New Issuers in 2026

Access to international capital markets remains a complex and resource-intensive process for companies from emerging economies, where financial performance alone is not sufficient. Corporate governance standards, regulatory maturity and the predictability of economic policy are often decisive factors. For Uzbekistan, which in recent years has pursued a sustained reform of its financial sector and legal framework, integration into the global capital markets system is increasingly becoming a practical rather than declarative objective.

The London Stock Exchange has traditionally served as one of the key listing venues for issuers from emerging markets, offering access to deep liquidity and a broad international institutional investor base. At the same time, investor interest in Central Asia is shaped by a combination of regional risks and structural reforms that are altering the investment profile of individual countries and companies.

In this context, we spoke with Ayuna Nechaeva, Head of Europe, Primary Markets at the London Stock Exchange, about the Exchange’s priorities for 2026, the readiness of Uzbek companies for IPOs, the role of dual listings and Eurobonds, and the core requirements international investors expect from issuers.

— As Head of Europe, Primary Markets, what are your main priorities for 2026?

— My main priority is to bring new listings and IPOs to the London Stock Exchange (the LSE) from Europe, the CIS and Central Asia. This broad remit includes origination work, i.e. seeking out new companies to add to the IPO pipeline and engaging and collaborating with capital markets advisers, private equity firms and VCs, as well as relevant government agencies to source new listing opportunities. In addition, a large part of my team’s work is focused on supporting the companies that are already on course towards the London IPO to ensure they have all the information needed to complete their transaction successfully within their established timeframe.

— How do you assess Uzbekistan’s readiness for international capital markets today?

— A huge amount of work has already been done by Uzbek state-owned companies to prepare themselves for international capital markets, under the guidance of relevant ministries and agencies, including UzAssets and NAPP. In the private sector, many companies already have international financial institutions such as EBRD as investors, which means they are already compliant with the rigorous standards needed to be accepted by the international market.

At a higher level, significant reforms are ongoing. For example, at the end of last year we saw the adoption of the new Uzbek Capital Markets law aimed at boosting the local capital market. Among other things, this new law allows domestically listed issuers to dual list on other exchanges and to issue foreign-currency denominated bonds. This is a major development which increases the competitiveness and attractiveness of Uzbekistan’s capital market. 

— What opportunities do you see for companies from Uzbekistan and Central Asia when it comes to IPOs or listings in London?

— We always work in close partnership with domestic exchanges in emerging markets. The London Stock Exchange’s purpose is to add value through dual listings. What we bring to the table is access to a well-established, deep and geographically diverse pool of institutional investor capital, which is one of the largest in the world. This means that Uzbek companies which list both on the Tashkent Stock Exchange and on the LSE can benefit not only from investment at home but also from significant international institutional investment. Such a model also provides an opportunity for better aftermarket liquidity and higher international profile and visibility. 

In my career, I have worked on numerous dual-listed IPOs: it is a well understood route for companies from countries like Uzbekistan, allowing them to raise significant amounts of money, usually in the hundreds of millions. Depending on the structure of the transaction, a part or all of the money raised can be invested back into the company for growth. Conversely, in all-secondary IPOs, all of the capital goes to the selling shareholder or shareholders which is how they monetise their initial investment.

In the context of a privatisation, the entire amount of the capital raised through an IPO of a state-owned company goes back to the government, benefitting the whole country and its economy. The largest privatisation deal I have worked on raised $5.2 bn for the selling shareholder. In that case it was the Central Bank on behalf of the government. I am confident that Uzbek companies will be very successful in London and this is already proven by the significand international demand for Uzbek’s listed Eurobonds on the LSE which we have witnessed of the past 5-6 years. 

— What are the most common challenges companies from emerging markets face when preparing for an international listing?

— Challenges can be multifaceted. At a structural level, in some emerging markets there can be impediments to the free inflow or outflow of international investment, such as capital controls. Other things include domestic legislation not allowing local companies to list abroad or not recognising international financial instruments such as GDRs. In Uzbekistan, these challenges have largely been addressed. 

At a company level, the biggest leap that any non-publicly listed company, including from emerging markets, must make is embracing the change in the mindset from inward-looking to outward-looking and transparent. Public markets are all about full transparency and requisite financial and business reporting. Good corporate governance standards, risk controls, reporting mechanisms should be established and implemented before a company goes public.

This preparation takes a lot of time and is sometimes challenging but, ultimately, all the efforts pay off as companies can then enjoy all the benefits that being publicly listed offers. In addition to any IPO capital raised, these include getting a public market valuation, easier and often cheaper access to equity and debt financing, opportunity to do M&A using shares instead of cash, retaining and incentivising talent through share options and much more. 

— How does the London Stock Exchange support companies from Central Asia at the early stages of their market journey?

— My team and I are always happy to speak with companies at the early stages of their IPO preparation. We run 1-1 meetings, workshops on how to list and raise capital on the London Stock Exchange. We often do the workshops jointly with investment banks, law firms, financial communications and audit firms. We also organise capital markets conferences at the LSE or in our key markets across Europe and Central Asia. More specifically, our work with future issuers includes providing guidance around the UK markets rules and regulations, investor demand, practical advice around what pitfalls to avoid during the IPO preparation process. 

We also make introductions to relevant capital markets advisers. It is important to mention that we do this completely free of charge as our main goal is to continue building and expanding the universe of listed companies on the LSE, as these listed companies play a central and crucial part in the entire value chain of not only the British but also global financial ecosystem. Central Asian markets provide international investors with unique access to growth opportunities which are not available anywhere else in the world. 

— What do global investors usually expect from companies in terms of transparency, reporting, and governance?

— The LSE and FCA listing rules reflect the expectations of global investors for listed companies. There is a whole rule book but to summarise key requirements around transparency, governance and reporting, I would highlight three important points. 

First, listed issuers need to report their financial results twice a year, on a 6-month and annual basis. Second, all material information, i.e. any information that can impact the share price either positively or negatively, should be disclosed to the market without delay. Third, a company should appoint independent non-executive directors to its board whose purpose, essentially, is to ensure that any decisions made by the board and the company executives serve the interests of all shareholders, including international institutional investors. 

It is a very broad topic, that is why the London Stock Exchange hosts a number of conferences and webinars to better educate potential and existing issuers on these themes. This is an important part of my job because companies that continually enhance their governance, transparency and reporting standards stand to benefit from increased and more diverse investment inflows and higher liquidity. 

— Do companies from Central Asia benefit more when they come to the market individually, or as part of a broader regional story? 

— There is always a regional story attached to any IPO. In order to make a decision to invest, investors will look at any risks and opportunities of the countries and markets where the company operates and where it originates from. These include the state of economy, any expected increase in, or the waning of, consumer demand.

Things like potential sanctions or tariffs being imposed by third countries are usually country-level but these might have an understandable impact on any company operating in the affected region. We see this in the EU as much as in Central Asia. In the end, this comes down to risk mitigation and whether a business can adequately adapt to or mitigate certain risks.

On the other hand, individual companies tend to benefit from positive developments such as reforms, removal of certain trade or investment-related restrictions, country’s economic growth or growth in certain industries. We see a huge amount of growth in the defence sector, for example, which is clearly driven by geopolitical events. At the same time, the AI sector continues to go from strength to strength, and this is determined by the global demand for AI companies. 

— By 2026, what would you like to see achieved in terms of new issuers from Uzbekistan and Central Asia on international markets?

— I cannot comment on my specific issuer pipeline in Central Asia, but I can say that I see a lot of positive momentum building in Central Asia and in Uzbekistan. One of the biggest markets in Central Asia is Kazakhstan. I think KASE and AIFC are doing really well in continuing to build up their markets. Samruk Kazyna, the sovereign wealth fund, is doing a great job preparing its portfolio companies for international markets. 

 I think that with the new legislative base now coming in place, Uzbekistan’s domestic capital market is in a very good place to start growing fast in 2026 by attracting new companies and investors.