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Eurasia
February 8, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 19
in a move to rescue the bad-loans-ridden lender.
Halyk Finance also said it expected a continued decline in the role of the banking system in the
Uzbekistan launches roadshow for its sovereign bond debut
bne IntelliNews
Uzbekistan is holding a roadshow from February 7 to February 14 in New York, Boston and London for its planned first sovereign bond this year.
Uzbekistan last year said it would debut its first eurobond in 2019 by selling between $200mn- 300mn of debt to create a benchmark for corporate borrowers - the latest news, however, appears
to indicate that the country might be planning
to raise $500mn. The country in 2017 began preparations to obtain a sovereign credit rating by signing a memorandum with Citigroup. Citibank and JPMorgan Chase reportedly might play roles as consultants in Uzbekistan's eurobond plans. Tashkent has named Raiffeisen Bank International as a potential issuer.
In September, Uzbekistan appointed HSBC banker Odilbek Isakov as the head of its new Sovereign and Corporate Debt Division.
The plan marks Uzbekistan out as the third Central Asian country to issue a eurobond – the first to go ahead was oil-rich neighbour Kazakhstan, while Central Asia's poorest country, Tajikistan, made a $500mn debut in September 2017. Raiffeisen Bank helped Tajikistan issue its eurobond.
development of Kazakhstan’s economy. The share of the loan portfolio of the banking sector accounted for 23% of GDP in 2018. That figure fell from 26% of GDP in 2017 and 33% in 2016.
If followed through and completed, the Uzbek eurobond move would further improve foreign investment opportunities for Tashkent, with Uzbekistan having lifted strict currency controls in 2017. The controls long fed the Uzbek som black market, scaring away potential foreign investors who could not, for instance, easily arrange to repatriate profits. Uzbekistan is hoping that a sovereign credit rating will allow the country’s banks and enterprises to receive foreign loans at lower interest rates.
Fitch Ratings became the first major rating agency to give Uzbekistan a rating on December 21. It assessed the most populous Central Asian nation at 'BB-' with a stable outlook. The following day Standard & Poor's issued Uzbekistan with a ‘BB-’ long-term and ‘B’ short-term credit rating with a stable outlook.
Uzbekneftegaz on January 24 named Russia’s Gazprombank as one of two global coordinators and bookrunners for its planned debut eurobond issue, without specifying the name of the second bank. The company’s statement also did not elaborate on any other details regarding the planned issuance.