Uzbekistan placing $750 mln of int'l bonds in two tranches
MOSCOW/TASHKENT. Nov 19 (Interfax) - Uzbekistan is placing the equivalent of $750 million of international bonds in two tranches, a banking sector source told Interfax.
They include a 10-year tranche of $555 million yielding 3.7%, demand for which exceeded $3.4 billion.
The other is a three-year tranche denominated in Uzbek sum and yielding 14.5%. The tranche totals 2 trillion sum or $195 million. Demand was around $450 million.
Settlements and payments on both tranches will be in dollars.
The Uzbek Finance Ministry confirmed the overall offering would equivalent to $750 million. "The offering of international bonds in the national currency will mitigate forex risks and prepared the ground for attracting international investors to the domestic financial market, including the treasury bond market," it said.
Uzbekistan launched the offering on Tuesday. Gazprombank , JP Morgan, VTB Capital and Societe Generale were mandated to arrange the offering.
Uzbekistan sold two tranches of debut international bonds totaling $500 million each in February last year. The five-year tranche yielded 4.75% and 10-year yielded 5.375%. Demand topped $8.5 billion.