Trading in dollar-denominated bonds issued by two companies began on the Toshkent Republican Stock Exchange on October 6, the exchange’s press service reported.
The exchange’s quotation list includes US dollar-denominated corporate bonds issued by microfinance organization Agat Credit and UB Assets Holding (Uzum), with a combined value of $60 million.
Uzum placed 1,000 bonds under the UASH3B1U ticker at a nominal value of $50,000 each, with an annual coupon rate of 8.5%.
The $50 million bonds will circulate for 1,080 days, or about two years and 11 months, with coupon payments made quarterly.
Additionally, Agat Credit issued 100,000 foreign currency bonds at $100 with a coupon yield of 11.5%. They will apply for two years, with monthly interest payments.
The National Agency of Perspective Projects registered Uzum’s $50 million bond issuance on September 15. The company was among the first in Uzbekistan to issue foreign-currency bonds under the capital market “regulatory sandbox”.
Agat Credit was also among the first companies to register as a participant in the special legal regime in June. It later announced plans to issue $10 million in bonds.
Foreign-currency bonds
In April, the National Agency of Perspective Projects approved regulations governing foreign-currency bonds in Uzbekistan. The rules cover the issuance, placement, trading and redemption of such bonds under the capital market “sandbox”.
A company may have no more than $50 million worth of foreign-currency bonds outstanding at any one time. Unsecured bonds may be issued only within the issuer’s equity capital. If this limit is exceeded, the company must provide collateral for the amount above the threshold, except for certain banks with high credit ratings.
Collateral may include real estate, cash, bank guarantees or insurance policies. Real estate must be appraised at market value and may cover no more than 75% of the assessed value of the issue, while its share of total collateral cannot exceed 50%.
At the Cbonds international conference “Capital Market of the Republic of Uzbekistan” on September 17, First Deputy Director of the National Agency of Perspective Projects Vyacheslav Pak said the agency had registered foreign-currency bond issues worth $90 million. He expressed hope that the figure would increase by the end of the year.
Asia Alliance Bank and Universalbank were the first issuers to officially register foreign-currency bond issues with the agency, worth $20 million and $10 million, respectively. Trading in both banks' securities began on the stock exchange on September 28.
The English version of this material was generated with the assistance of AI translation tools and may differ slightly from the original text.
