Government of Uzbekistan is making final preparations for its first foray into international debt markets, naming four international banks to lead a dollar bond deal, Reuters reported citing the sources involved in the plans.
American JP Morgan Chase & Co. has been appointed as lead adviser, and is joined by international debt houses Deutsche Bank and Citi as well as state-owned Russian bank “Gazprombank”.
Having secured a BB- credit rating from Fitch this week, Uzbekistan is readying a $500 million, 5-10 year bond for the first quarter of next year.
Issuing its first dollar-denominated bond will put Uzbekistan firmly on the map of international investors.
“The Uzbek government met with investors in late November and the feedback was positive from most,” said one of the sources.
A formal deal roadshow will take place early next year with the deal set to be marketed to investors in Europe and the United States.
Uzbekistan’s new BB- rating puts it in line with big emerging market debt issuers such as Turkey, whose benchmark bonds now trade at a yield of around 7.5%.
