Kazakhstan dollar bonds attract investors



Investors snapped up the first dollar bond of Kazakhstan in over a decade with the debt the first of its kind to include provisions put in place following Argentina’s default earlier this year. Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country rich in oil fields, was able to raise $2.5 billion through the sale of 10 and 30 year dollar denominated bonds that had respective yields of 4.073% and 5.116%. The offering ended up being significantly oversubscribed with the country’s second biggest bank’s brokerage unit, Halyk Finance, saying that its order books went over $11 billion. The bonds included a binding clause that investors would follow all super majority decisions made by 75% of the holders, a section endorsed by international financial organizations after Argentina was plunged into a debt crisis due to a default. The country joins other former Soviet Union members who have tapped into international debt markets over the past year including Azerbaijan and Armenia who both did so for the first time in their history. Kazakhstan made the offering despite concerns over falling oil prices. Further declines in the energy market and lingering economic struggles in Russia could put at risk the government’s target for a 5% growth rate this year, officials admitted.

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