Central Asia

Kazatomprom, the Kazakh company that is one of the world's largest producers of natural uranium, is seeking an IPO in London and potentially Astana, the first of a number of expected sales by the state.

HSBC DCM banker Odilbek Isakov has been hired to run Uzbekistan’s new debt management office.

Kazakhstan’s agricultural holding company KazAgro is conducting a liability management exercise to actively manage its upcoming debt maturities.

The world’s first bond denominated in Uzbekistani soum was listed on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning. The bond, issued by the International Finance Corporation, is expected to be the first step in the country’s growing ambitions for a capital markets presence.

The Development Bank of Kazakhstan was set to price its tenge denominated Eurobond on Thursday evening in London from a book that was at the last update approaching Kt140bn.

The Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK) has released price guidance for its second tenge Eurobond in five months.

Kazmunaygas’ (KMG) $3.25bn bond on Tuesday proved to be a beneficiary of the latest round of US sanctions against Russia sanctions, as investors sought a new oil play away from the volatility surrounding assets from the proscribed state.

Kazakhstan’s national oil company Kazmunaygas, rated Baa3/BB-/BBB-, has released initial price guidance for its dollar senior unsecured triple tranche 2025, 2030 and 2048 issue.

The Eurasian Development Bank has embarked on a roadshow for a three to five year tenge denominated Eurobond.

Nostrum Oil & Gas, the Kazakh independent oil and gas company listed in London, nipped into a busy bond market on Thursday to raise $400m to complete the refinancing of its bonds due 2019.

RusHydro, the Russian hydroelectric power generator, issued the first local currency Eurobond of 2018 with a three year note on Thursday. Bond bankers said that internationally cleared local currency bonds would gain increasing traction this year.

Kazakhstan is preparing to open up its local markets to foreign investors, having this week inked a memorandum of interest with Euroclear. After a big year for EM local currency issuance in 2017, investors and bankers are excited about the possibility of easier access to Kazakh local markets, writes Virginia Furness.