ASTANA – The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has participated in a bond issuance by Kazakhstan’s national railway company, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the bank announced on July 4.
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy successfully completed the placement of a Swiss-franc-denominated Eurobond on the SIX Swiss Exchange on June 20. The total amount of the issue is CHF 285 million. It comprises two tranches of five and eight years for CHF 100 million and CHF 185 million respectively.
The Bank participated in the longer-term tranche of the Eurobond.
“The proceeds of KTZ’s Eurobond issuance will be used to finance much-needed logistics infrastructure across the country, including on the border with China,” the bank said in a press release. “The private sector will be actively involved. By further developing its logistics business, Kazakhstan Railways will facilitate increased cargo transit, especially on the critical China-EU trade route.”
“We are pleased with this successful issuance of the Eurobond by KTZ,” EBRD Director for Kazakhstan Janet Heckman said. “The proceeds will be invested in better logistics infrastructure, which will improve the quality of transportation and help to remove physical and non-physical barriers to trade along the route from China to Europe, once known as the Silk Road.”
As part of this operation, the Bank will support KTZ with structuring the first logistics hub public-private partnership (PPP) project in one of the regions of Kazakhstan and will also provide assistance with improving the corporate governance practices of JSC KTZ Express, KTZ’s logistics operator.
