First Time in 9 Years: Kazakhstan to Issue Dollar Bonds

For the first time since 2015, the Kazakh Ministry of Finance will issue Eurobonds worth 1.5 billion dollars. This will help attract additional funds to finance the budget deficit, Orda.kz reports.

According to the Astana International Exchange (AIX) website, book building, i.e., collection of bids for the purchase of securities for the new dollar bonds, will be on October 3 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM Astana time. The securities will be officially placed on the exchange on October 7-8. 

The Ministry of Finance will issue 7,500 bonds worth $200,000 each with a coupon rate of 4.87%. Four international banks — BCC Invest, JP Morgan, Citibank, and Societé Generale CIB — will be involved.

On October 2, the ministry announced the issuance of Eurobonds. Kazakhstan's economic potential will initially be presented to global investors. The securities will later be priced, and the optimal parameters for the Eurobond issue will be determined. In October, the maturity of Kazakhstan's prior $1.5 billion in bonds will approach.

Kazakhstan last issued Eurobonds in 2015. Protracted litigation with Moldovan businessmen Gabriel and Anatolie Stati prevented the country's return to the dollar bond market. Kazakhstan's assets worth $28 billion were frozen in 2017. After the "Stati case" ended with a settlement agreement in July 2024, Kazakhstan no longer has any obstacles to placing Eurobonds. Bloomberg reported that the country had plans to issue new dollar bonds in mid-August.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny