Kazakhstan to boost its public debt and borrow more than last year

The Ministry of Finance has published a public security issuing schedule for 2024. According to this document, the ministry is going to borrow about $11.4 billion this year, a 5.5% increase compared to 2023.

Long-term treasury bonds (maturity up to ten years) of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MEUKAM) will account for most of this sum. The ministry also plans to issue one-year yield bonds for $1.1 billion; two-year bonds for $1 billion and three-year bonds for $1.12 billion. Bonds with a maturity of 16 years (the longest financial tool of the public debt in Kazakhstan) are going to account for the smallest share of $128 million.

The first issues were placed on January 4, while July is going to be the busiest month in terms of offerings ($1.9 billion). In December 2024, the government will issue a debt instrument for $72.9 million. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance warns that the schedule might be adjusted during this year.

As of October 1, 2023, the public debt of Kazakhstan was at $64.4 billion compared to $55.9 billion as of January 2023. According to Jusan Analytics, the amount of public debt is twice as much as the cost of oil exports. Analytics expect that the increase rate of the public debt will slow down from 15.2% last year to 11.5%. The rate is expected to rise to $75.5 billion by the end of this year.

In late December 2023, MP Yerlan Sairov announced that the entire pubic debt of Kazakhstan was about $105 billion if liabilities of the quasi-state sector were taken into account. Given that this debt is as big as 40% of the state budget, the MP said that a new control mechanism over the public debt must be introduced.