The Republic of Kazakhstan successfully completes debut sovereign panda bond issuance

On 26 May 2026, the Republic of Kazakhstan successfully completed its debut sovereign panda bond issuance on the Chinese capital market. The bonds are denominated in Chinese Yuan (RMB), with a total issuance size of RMB 3.4 billion (equivalent of 500mln USD), a 3-year tenor, and a coupon rate of 1.90% per annum.

The offering was two times oversubscribed during the bookbuilding process, reflecting strong confidence from Chinese institutional investors in the country’s robust macroeconomic fundamentals including sustained economic growth and the globally lowest levels of government debt.

Kazakhstan set a record by pricing its bonds in the Chinese capital market at the lowest coupon rate among BBB-rated sovereign issuers and at the level of AA-rated countries.

The record-low coupon reflects the fiscal and tax reforms, as well as the broader policy transformation agenda initiated by the Head of State, which have significantly strengthened international investor confidence in Kazakhstan.

The panda bond issuance has established a pricing benchmark for future offerings by quasi-government and corporate issuers from Kazakhstan.

This transaction represents another important milestone in the development of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Kazakhstan and Chinaand reflects the deepening of bilateral financial and investment cooperation.

The bonds will be listed on the Beijing Financial Assets Exchange and the Astana International Exchange (AIX), further strengthening financial connectivity between Kazakhstan and China.

The Ministry of Finance will continue to implement a prudent government borrowing policy aimed at diversifying the debt portfolio, reducing debt servicing costs, and maintaining international investor confidence in the sovereign credit profile of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

This issuance was executed under the approved external government borrowing program. Government debt remains at a safe and manageable level of 20% of GDP against a statutory ceiling of 32%, which is among the lowest ratios globally.