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Eurasia
September 21, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 17
included a merger deal between KKB and Halyk.
Meanwhile, Tsesnabank has been reshuffling its management. The bank appointed Ulf Wokurka, a former Deutsche Bank manager, as chief executive on September 14.
In addition, recently released ex-presidential chief of staff Adilbek Zhaksybekov was announced
as the bank’s new chairman on September
10. The 64-year-old Zhaqsybekov’s departure from government was explained as a result
of his reaching the retirement age. He served as chief of staff between 2004-2018 and was reappointed in 2016. His family controls a group of enterprises through the Tsesna Corporation holding company, which includes Tsesnabank.
Uzbekistan appoints HSBC banker to oversee first ever eurobond issuance
bne IntelliNews
Uzbekistan has appointed HSBC banker Odilbek Isakov as the head of its new Sovereign and Corporate Debt Division, which is to focus on issuing the country’s first ever eurobond, the Uzbek ministry of finance said on September 18.
Uzbekistan plans to sell between $200mn- 300mn of eurobonds next year to create a benchmark for Uzbek corporate borrowers — the country named Raiffeisen Bank International
AG as a potential issuer. Uzbekistan last year began preparations to obtain a sovereign credit rating by signing a memorandum with Citigroup, noting that Citibank will become the country’s consultant. JPMorgan Chase reportedly might also play a role as an additional consultant.
Uzbekistan is aiming to go on a roadshow in the first quarter of 2019 — the Uzbek government had previously announced plans for an issuance
for 2018.
The plan marks Uzbekistan out as the third Central Asian country to issue eurobonds —
the first to go ahead was oil-rich neighbour Kazakhstan, while Tajikistan made a $500mn debut last year. Raiffeisen Bank helped Tajikistan issue its first eurobond last September.
If followed through and completed, the Uzbek 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, arrange to easily 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.