The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised 427.5 million Kyrgyz soms (about $5 million) from its first bond offering issued in this central Asian currency. The ADB website says.
The 3-year issue, which carries a 10.5 percent coupon, is denominated in Kyrgyz som and settled in US dollars. Arranged by Standard Chartered Bank and fully subscribed by Record Currency Management, it was structured as an international bond and documented under ADB’s Global Medium-Term Note Program.
The financing provides a full mitigation of currency risk for an ADB project, which supports micro and small enterprises (MSEs), with at least 40 percent of the loan to be channeled to women-led or owned MSEs. The project is delivered through Kompanion Bank, which has a strong presence in rural areas and experience in supporting women entrepreneurs.
«ADB’s maiden Kyrgyz som bond further expands our local currency footprint and builds on our efforts to deliver foreign exchange risk mitigation solutions in all of ADB’s developing member countries,» ADB Assistant Treasurer Jonathan Grosvenor said.
Local currency finance is a strategically important deliverable for ADB, the bank said.
