Photo courtesy of rbk.ru
In 2024, the Uzbek government and local companies set a record by issuing $4 billion worth of Eurobonds, according to a report by Avesta Investment Group, cited by Spot.uz.
A total of 12 placements were made, a fourfold increase compared to previous years. Of the total amount, 81% ($3.3 billion) was issued in foreign currency, while 19% ($0.8 billion) was issued in Uzbek soums.
The average coupon rate for foreign currency Eurobonds was 7.5%, whereas domestic bonds had a significantly higher rate of over 20%.
📌 In May, the government issued $1.5 billion in Eurobonds, of which only $300 million was in the national currency.
📌 The remaining $2.6 billion was raised by several major companies:
✅ Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine (NMMC) issued its first-ever Eurobonds worth $1 billion and plans an additional $500 million issuance in 2025.
✅ Uzpromstroybank issued $400 million in Eurobonds and 2.25 trillion soums ($174.4 million).
✅ Agrobank issued $400 million and 700 billion soums ($54.2 million).
✅ NBU (National Bank of Uzbekistan) issued $300 million and 1.4 trillion soums ($108.5 million).
✅ Ipoteka-Bank issued 1.4 trillion soums ($108.5 million).
At the end of 2024, the total volume of outstanding government securities increased 2.4 times, reaching 24.6 trillion soums ($1.9 billion).
A total of 74 government bond placements were made, marking a 2.3-fold increase from 2023. The average annual yield was 16.8%, slightly lower than the 17.1% recorded in 2023.
Eurobonds are international debt securities issued by companies or governments to raise long-term financing in European financial markets. Foreign investors receive fixed interest payments and recover the principal amount at maturity.
Uzbekistan first started issuing Eurobonds in 2019 after receiving credit ratings from the Big Three agencies—Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s.
