ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank has signed a strategic partnership on July 23 with Uzbekistan’s leading fintech company, Click, as part of its plan to grow its presence in Central Asia’s fast-moving digital finance sector.
Click’s CEO Ulugbek Rustamov and Halyk’s Umit Shayakhmetova on July 23 in Almaty. Photo Halyk Bank press service
According to Halyk Bank’s press service, under the agreement, Kazakh bank will buy 49% of Click’s shares for $176.4 million. In comparison, Click’s shareholders will acquire 49% of Halyk’s Uzbek subsidiary, Tenge Bank, for $60.76 million. The two companies will continue to operate independently but will work closely together to expand their services.
The deal is expected to be completed after receiving regulatory approvals from both countries.
For Halyk Bank, this deal is a crucial component of its strategy to enhance its position in the region. With $37.5 billion in assets, Halyk is the largest financial group in Central Asia. It already offers a wide range of services — including retail and corporate banking, insurance, leasing, and asset management.
Deputy CEO of Halyk Bank, Nariman Mukushev, commenting on the agreement, noted that this will enable the bank to expand its financial services, grow its digital ecosystem, and adopt best global practices.
“I always believed that strong ecosystems are built globally,” he said.
Click’s CEO Ulugbek Rustamov called the agreement a historic moment.
“Partnering with Halyk Bank and expanding our work with Tenge Bank is an important step toward offering world-class digital financial services to millions of users. At the same time, Click remains majority-owned by its current shareholders and continues to grow as a national brand,” he said.
Click currently serves over 20 million users in Uzbekistan and is well-known for its digital wallets and payment services. The company’s SuperApp brings together a wide range of services — from payments, insurance, and loan repayments to delivery, car services, shopping, and even government services. In 2024, Click’s revenue grew by 35.3%, while profits rose by 37.5%, thanks to a growing number of services and 70,000 business partners.
Halyk has invested around $1.5 billion in Uzbekistan to date. After this deal, the bank’s customer base across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will grow to over 32 million people. Together, the two countries have more than 58 million residents and over 2.6 million small businesses and individual entrepreneurs.
