ADB issues green bonds in Kazakhstan tenge

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised almost 14 billion Kazakhstan tenge (KZT) ($32 million) in the first green bonds auctioned and listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange.

Proceeds of the bond issued under ADB’s Green Bond Framework will finance ADB’s portfolio of climate change adaptation and mitigation projects in Kazakhstan.

The two-year KZT10.09bn and KZT3.87bn bonds pay 10.10% and 10.12% semi-annual coupons, respectively. Denominated and settled in KZT, the bonds were arranged by Tengri Partners and sold to banks and institutional investors in the domestic market.

“Sustainable finance is at the heart of our work in ADB,” said ADB Treasurer Pierre Van Peteghem. “By issuing local-currency green bonds, ADB supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals, mitigates currency risk for our borrowers, and contributes to the development of the Kazakhstan capital market.”

Climate change finance is a core development area for ADB, with $42.5bn of clean energy investments initiated from 2009 to 2019. ADB has issued more than $8.2bn of green bonds in 11 currencies.

ADB is a regular borrower in the mainstream international bond markets but has also led issuances in developing Asian countries as part of its efforts to promote local currency bond markets as an alternative to bank lending. ADB issued KZT45.8bn of bonds in Kazakhstan in 2019, having first tapped the currency with an inaugural bond issue in 2007.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

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