Central Asia

GlobalMarkets: With such a large share of the mortgage market, it doesn’t seem you have much of an impetus to expand your product offerings?

Uzbekistan is committed to improving its productive capacity and institutional strength on the way to achieving sustainable economic development.

An ambitious and multifaceted reform programme is underway to take an already sound economy and open it to international markets

GlobalMarkets: Your president has made it clear that he expects the country’s banks to improve their efficiency as part of the overall economic liberalisation programme. What is the NBU doing to accomplish this task?

The oil-rich nation took a blow from the global pandemic, but Kazakhstan is getting back on track

The Development Bank of Kazakhstan on Thursday launched a dual tranche bond in dollars and Kazakh tenge. Investor interest in emerging market local currency debt has increased over the last year, as the hunt for yield grows.

UzAuto Motors, an auto maker owned by the Uzbek state, entered the dollar bond market on Tuesday for its debut deal.

European equity capital markets continued to reel from volatility across the Atlantic on Friday. A sell-off in tech stocks is making the block trade market difficult and a popular IPO suffered on its first day of trading.

Diversification has taken hold in central Asia's Uzbekistan, which over the last two years has started its pivot towards international capital markets. According to sources, a plethora of debut deals is expected to hit markets in coming months.

UzAuto Motors, a car maker owned by the Uzbek government, has raised its debut syndicated loan from European lenders. The deal is one of many over the last year that have opened up Uzbekistan’s borrowers to international capital markets.

The Republic of Uzbekistan, which debuted in international debt markets just last year, sold a dual currency bond this week, as foreign investors eyed up an Uzbek som tranche.

Emerging market issuers have crept back into the small issuance window in international markets after a brief pause for the US elections, with Dubai Islamic Bank and Uzbekistan’s Ipoteka Bank issuing dollar-denominated bonds this week.