Franklin Templeton has taken over as manager of the Uzbekistan National Investment Fund (UzNIF), and is aiming to list USD 1.7 bln of Uzbek state assets within a year, it has been announced. The fund owns minority stakes in 18 SOEs, and is planning to list locally and on an international exchange. Further, inflation in Uzbekistan moved down slightly in April, to 10.1% YoY, from 10.3% previously. The government plans to hike regulated energy tariffs from May, which could materially impact inflation going forward.