Halyk Bank has raised a $300-million syndicated loan from 12 banks across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia with the U.S.-based Citi as the main coordinator for the deal. According to the bank’s press office, this marks the first deal of its kind in Kazakhstan in 15 years.
Through the new loan facility, available for general corporate purposes, Halyk Bank can further diversify its funding sources on attractive terms. The transaction was initially launched at $200 million and later upsized to $300 million due to oversubscription. The loan is comprised of two tranches which are due to be received in one and three years, respectively.
The deal was arranged by Citi (U.S.), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (UAE) and Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (Germany) who served as authorized bookrunners and underwriters of the loan. According to Halyk Bank CEO Umut Shayakhmetova, the deal «is yet another confirmation of the bank’s strong credit performance.» Saule Zhakayeva, chairperson of Citi Kazakhstan also added that the agreement highlights the significant interest of foreign investors in Kazakhstan.
Last week, Moody’s international rating agency upgraded Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit rating, assigning Halyk Bank a record «Baa1» rating with a «stable» outlook. Analysts cited the bank’s strong capitalization and improvements in asset quality.
In 2008, Halyk Bank secured a $300 million syndicated loan for one year, arranged by BNP Paribas, ING Wholesale Banking, Landesbank Berlin, Standard Bank, UniCredit Markets & Investment Banking and WestLB. At that time, 21 financial institutions from eight countries participated in the loan. The funds were used for general corporate purposes, including financing client trade contracts.
Halyk Bank was founded in 1923 as part of the Soviet Union’s Sberbank. Today, a controlling stake (56.39%) of the bank is held by businessman Timur Kulibayev and his wife Dinara through Almex Holding. An additional 23.07% is owned by a nominal holder represented by the Bank of New York, which issued global depositary receipts (GDRs). As of Sept. 17, the bank’s shares were trading at $0.43 on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), a 1.8% increase day-on-day.
Halyk Bank’s securities have been officially listed on KASE since 1998, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) since 2006 and the Astana International Exchange (AIX) since 2019. The bank’s assets, net profit and loan portfolio represent approximately one-third of Kazakhstan’s total banking market volume.
The bank also has subsidiaries in Georgia and Uzbekistan. Until recently, Halyk Bank owned a branch in Kyrgyzstan, but in the spring of 2024, it sold the Kyrgyz operation for $38 million to a consortium of buyers affiliated with the investment group Visor International DMCC, whose majority shareholder is Kazakh businessman Aidan Karibzhanov.
