Uzbekistani Bank Has Placed Eurobonds On LSE for the First Time

Uzbekistani joint-stock commercial bank Uzpromstroybank placed international bonds on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) for the first time on November 25, the bank’s press office says.

«JSCB Uzpromstroybank issued international bonds on the London Stock Exchange, thus becoming a participant of the international capital market. Eurobonds worth $300 million were highly regarded by the investors,» the bank’s press release says.

Demand for the bank’s securities turned out to be high. The initial interest rate for the five-year international bonds was set at 6.5%, and within one and a half hours, order volume reached $300 million, equaling the entire issue volume. By 1:05 p.m., order volume reached $1.2 billion, translating to an oversubscription by four times. At the same time, the interest rate of the bonds was lowered by 0.125% to 6.375%.

«Thanks to such high demand, the deal was sufficiently profitable and was closed at 5:00 p.m. London time with a coupon rate of 5.75%,» Uzpromstroybank’s press release noted.

International investment banks such as JP Morgan, Citigroup, Commerzbank, and Raiffeisen Bank served as financial consultants of the deal on the issue of corporate Eurobonds.

JSCB Uzpromstroybank is one of the oldest financial institutions in Uzbekistan. The bank was founded in Tashkent in 1922 as the Central Asian office of Promyshlennyi Bank. Presently the bank lends to large investment projects, basic sectors of the economy, and small and private businesses. Major shareholders of the bank are the Finance Ministry of Uzbekistan and the Fund of Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan (together they own 82.18% of the shares), as well as a partially government-owned company group (national holding company Uzbekneftegaz, JSC Uzbekenergo, JSC Uzkimyosanoat, and JSC Uzbekiston Temir Yullari). An unknown foreign investor owns 0.48% of the bank’s shares. Another 3.98% are owned by other entities and individuals.

In August 2018, the bank served 960,500 clients. According to the results of the third quarter of 2019, the bank’s net profit was more than 327 billion Uzbekistani som ($34.4 million). Uzpromstroybank has a credit rating of ‘BB-’ and the outlook is stable, according to the international rating agency Fitch Ratings.