Central Asian borrowers are continuining to expand their use of Asian and Islamic capital markets to help fund investment projects. In the last few weeks, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna completing debut dim sum bond offerings, while Uzbek fintech company Alif Moliya has listed a sukuk in Astana.
The activity comes alongside the EDB’s fresh development financing for transport, digital infrastructure and financial services across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The EDB, a multilateral development bank, placed its offshore Renminbi bond on October 12, raising Rmb630 million ($94.3 million) through three-year senior unsecured notes carrying a fixed coupon of 3.9%.
The bonds attracted orders exceeding the issue size by more than 2.5 times and were rated Ag by China Chengxin (Asia Pacific) Credit Ratings. They began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on October 21 under the bank’s new $3.5 billion medium-term note (MTN) programme.
China Galaxy International, China International Capital Corporation and CITIC Securities acted as joint global coordinators. Fosun International Securities and Orient Securities (Hong Kong) joined as bookrunners.
The EDB will mainly use the proceeds to finance a Kazakhstan-China border crossing and railway line. The transaction gives the bank an additional source of liquidity and complements its existing credit lines from Chinese banks.
The bond follows the EDB’s participation as a $100 million anchor lender in a $670 million club financing arranged by Bank of America for the expansion of Almaty International Airport, alongside Merrill Lynch International, Societe Generale, the Turkic Investment Fund and other Kazakh banks.
On October 19, the EDB agreed to provide up to $31.2 million for the first phase of Akashi data centre in Astana, one of the largest data centre construction projects in Central Asia. The project supports Kazakhstan’s strategic focus on developing digital economy and artificial intelligence.
In Uzbekistan, the EDB increased its financing for digital ecosystem Uzum from $70 million to $100 million in October. The additional funding will support Uzum’s fintech operations and digital financial services for small and medium-sized businesses.
The EDB is headquartered in Almaty that finances transport, digital systems, green energy, agriculture and manufacturing across Eurasia. Its cumulative portfolio comprised 348 projects representing $22.1 billion of investment by the end of June 2026.
Samruk-Kazyna taps dim sum after panda bond
Separately, Samruk-Kazyna raised Rmb3 billion on October 16, after receiving demand exceeding the issue size by more than three times.
The transaction comprised Rmb2 billion of three-year bonds paying a 2.15% annual coupon and Rmb1 billion of five-year notes carrying a 2.3% coupon. The notes were admitted to trading on both HKEX and the Astana International Exchange (AIX), with proceeds earmarked for the sovereign wealth fund’s investment projects.
The bonds were the first issuance under Samruk-Kazyna’s $1.5 billion MTN programme established in September. Guotai Junan International acted as programme arranger and joint global coordinator.
A spokesperson from Bank of China confirmed to FinanceAsia that the bank is another joint global coordinator of this issuance. Citi, Guotai Junan Securities and Standard Chartered were joint bookrunners for the issuance, while Teniz Capital acted as local lead manager.
The deal followed Samruk-Kazyna’s Rmb3 billion debut panda bond issuance in April.
EDB and Alif Moliya explore sukuk financing
The EDB is also seeking to develop Islamic finance as a regional funding channel. On October 15, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board covering regulatory guidance, training and research across Central Asia, planning further regional initiatives in the first quarter of 2027.
A 2025 study by the EDB, the Islamic Development Bank Institute and LSEG projected that the region’s sukuk market could reach $5.6 billion by 2033, pointing to Gulf and Southeast Asian Islamic banks as sources of capital and expertise for Central Asia.
On the private side, AIX also listed $10 million of a two-year sukuk issued by Alif Moliya Sukuk SPC Limited on October 20, the special purpose vehicle of Alif Moliya, marking the first sukuk from Uzbekistan admitted to the exchange.
Alif Moliya intends to use the proceeds to expand its business in Uzbekistan, primarily its instalment-payment service, chief executive officer Nuriddin Lafizov said in an interview at AIFC’s Astana Finance Days 2026. AIFC confirmed to FA that the return is targeted at 10% per annum without guaranteeing distributions.
The Mudarabah sukuk offers investors a profit-sharing interest in Alif Moliya’s underlying business, Assel Tolegen, director of corporate finance of Teniz Capital, told FA.
Teniz Capital, who has previously supported Asia Minerals Resources and Gramma T’s sukuk listing on AIX, acted as placement arranger and lead underwriter for the issuance. Tolegen said most of the demand is expected from retail investors, predominantly from Kazakhstan, while participation from Tajikistan is under progress.
Tashkent-based Alif Moliya is part of the UK-incorporated Alif Capital Holdings, a fintech group operating across Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. Its services include instalment financing, payments and ecommerce.
Infrastructure remains a constraint
The Alif transaction provides an early test of whether Central Asia can develop a cross-border market for Islamic securities.
AIFC told FA that there is “sufficient” interest from prospective issuers in issuing Islamic financial instruments at AIX. Tolegen also sees potential as Central Asian clients seek alternative sources of capital and investors look for greater diversification through Shariah-compliant products.
However, Tolegen also added that sukuks can make variable distributions linked to the performance of the company, creating additional technical requirements for exchanges, central securities depositories, brokers and other market participants.
“Establishing standardised documentation, efficient settlement mechanisms and a consistent Shariah governance framework will be essential to facilitating larger and more frequent cross-border sukuk issuances,” she concluded.
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