A listing ceremony for Kazakhstan’s sovereign panda bonds was held on the Astana International Exchange.
The bonds were issued with a 1.9% yield, which, according to the Ministry of Finance, is a record. Kazakhstan secured financing on the Chinese stock market at the lowest rate among BBB-rated countries, reaching levels typically seen among AA-rated sovereign issuers.
Panda bonds are RMB-denominated debt instruments issued in China’s domestic market by foreign governments, corporations, or financial institutions.
Kazakhstan’s Finance Ministry noted that the use of the Bond Connect infrastructure was a key factor in the transaction. It provides international investors with access to China’s Interbank Bond Market, one of the world’s largest fixed-income markets.
Integration into this system creates new opportunities to attract Chinese capital, expands Kazakhstani investors’ access to China’s debt market, and promotes financial integration between Kazakhstan and China.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Finance, senior officials from AIX, and lead underwriters and partners in the transaction, including China International Capital Corporation, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Astana, Teniz Capital Investment Banking, and China Lianhe Credit Rating Co., Ltd.
Officials emphasized that the ceremony marked the start of trading on the Astana International Exchange platform.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had signed the law “On ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on encouragement and mutual protection of investment.”