On February 9, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) raised 8.4 billion Kazakhstani tenge (KZT) (17 million euros) from the first bond of its kind issued in Kazakhstan.

Proceeds from the bond will help finance the KZT 38 billion Gender Equality in Housing Finance Project to expand the lending operations of the Housing and Construction Savings Bank of Kazakhstan (Otbasy Bank) and promote affordable residential mortgage loans for women borrowers in rural areas. The ADB loan is the first external loan contracted by Otbasy Bank. The loan is guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan.

The 10.15% semi-annual coupon bond has a final maturity of 10 years, redeemable in December 2030. The bond is the longest maturity local currency bond issued by a multilateral development bank in Kazakhstan . Auctioned and listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange as part of a bond issue organized by Tengri Partners, the offering was oversubscribed and sold to domestic institutional investors.

The AfDB is also preparing to issue another tenge bond to finance the CAREC corridor 1 and 6 connector road reconstruction project.

“The AfDB is delighted to contribute to the development of Kazakhstan’s flourishing capital markets,” said AfDB Treasurer Pierre Van Peteghem. “This first-of-its-kind tenge-denominated bond follows our first green bonds last November and underscores the catalytic nature of the AfDB’s borrowing program in Asian local currencies.

The AfDB has issued more than $ 3.2 billion in thematic bonds to support education, gender, health and water projects as investors allocate more funds to environmental, social and governance objectives ( ESG).