BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 15. Uzbekistan’s
National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity (UzNatsBank) and China
International Capital Corporation (CICC) have agreed to arrange the
issuance and listing of international bonds worth $250 million on
the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking the Uzbek bank’s first entry
into Asia’s debt capital markets.


According to UzNatsBank, the agreement was signed on the
sidelines of the 11th Belt and Road Summit during a high-level
Uzbek delegation’s visit to Hong Kong on September 9–10.


The planned issuance will comprise bonds denominated in Chinese
yuan and Uzbek soums, with a total value equivalent to $250
million. The deal is expected to broaden UzNatsBank’s access to
Asian investors and diversify the bank’s funding sources and
currency structure.


The agreement will also allow the bank to tap Asian capital
markets to raise resources for financing priority investment
projects in Uzbekistan.


The planned transaction builds on UzNatsBank’s previous activity
in international capital markets. Since 2020, the bank has
completed three bond issuances on the London and Vienna stock
exchanges totaling $1.13 billion.







The new deal is also aligned with Uzbekistan’s 2026 State
Investment Program, under which UzNatsBank is expected to attract
up to $1.5 billion from leading international financial
institutions to finance priority projects in the country.


The agreement with CICC comes amid expanding financial and
investment ties between Uzbekistan and China. Bilateral trade
turnover approached $18 billion last year, while the two countries
have set a new target of increasing that figure to $30 billion in
the coming years.


The portfolio of joint investment projects between Uzbekistan
and China is estimated at around $60 billion, while more than 6,000
joint ventures involving the two countries operate in
Uzbekistan.


Against this backdrop, the cooperation between UzNatsBank and
CICC represents a further step toward expanding Uzbekistan’s
presence in Asian capital markets and attracting longer-term
financing for the country’s investment priorities.