Almaty wants to raise yuan funding in Hong Kong, but so far it has only reached the memorandum stage. On 25 September, at the Kazakhstan–China Investment Forum in Almaty, the city akimat and Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong) Limited signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on arranging and supporting an issue of dim sum bonds on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). Public materials give no size, tenor, coupon or timetable.
Dim sum bonds are yuan-denominated debt issued and traded outside mainland China, mainly in Hong Kong. Yuan bonds sold by foreign issuers inside the mainland go by a different name: panda bonds.
Who would issue
In the list of signed documents released by the Akorda press office and carried by Kazinform, the document appears as a memorandum between the Almaty akimat and Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong). KAZAKH INVEST, which organised the forum, is more specific in its press release: the dim sum issue on HKEX is being arranged for SPK Almaty JSC. On that wording, the issuer would be the city-owned company.
Official materials do not say what the money would be used for. DKNews also notes that the document covers arranging and supporting a possible issue, and that it is too early to speak of a completed placement or money raised.
The memorandum was one of 10 key documents exchanged at the forum. KAZAKH INVEST counts about 50 commercial documents worth more than $8.2 billion in total, with these 10 accounting for $5.4 billion. Two more finance-related documents were in the same package: KAZAKH INVEST and Silk Road Finance Corporation agreed key terms for a specialised investment fund at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan and China Construction Bank Corporation Astana Branch approved preliminary financing terms.
Two state issuers have already tested the market
Almaty is not the first Kazakh issuer to look at dim sum bonds. A month earlier, two state entities placed deals.
Rules related to this news
KazMunayGas closed its order book on 26 August for CNY 3.5 billion: CNY 1.5 billion of five-year notes with a 2.3% coupon (2.45% yield) and CNY 2 billion of ten-year notes with a 2.8% coupon (2.98% yield). Moody's rated the bonds Baa1, and settlement was set for 2 September. KMG says a two-day roadshow in Hong Kong preceded the deal and peak orders topped CNY 25 billion, more than seven times the announced size.
The Development Bank of Kazakhstan reported on 9 September a two-tranche issue totalling CNY 3.7 billion: CNY 2 billion over five years at 2.25% and CNY 1.7 billion over ten years at 2.75%. Demand again exceeded CNY 25 billion. The notes are listed on AIX and HKEX; according to DBK's disclosure on KASE, they have traded in Hong Kong since 10 September. The bank says the proceeds will go to key projects in non-resource sectors.
DBK's list of arrangers and joint lead managers includes Guotai Junan International, alongside Bank of China, CICC, ICBC (Asia), Industrial Bank Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch and others. For Almaty, the city has picked the same group's Hong Kong brokerage.
What Chinese businesses in Kazakhstan can watch
For Chinese financial institutions, it shows Kazakh demand for yuan funding in Hong Kong moving from national companies down to city level. For Chinese companies operating in Kazakhstan, the city projects and procurement behind any Almaty issue may be worth following if the bonds do go ahead.
The next thing to watch is the formal offering documentation: the issuer's credit rating, size and tenor, listing venue and use of proceeds. None of this has been published yet; this article will be updated when new official information appears.
Sources:
Kazinform (Russian edition, citing the Akorda press office), 25 September 2026, https://www.inform.kz/ru/kazahstan-ikitay-podpisali-10-soglasheniy-ponovim-proektam-de0b91bd
Qazinform (English edition), 25 September 2026, https://qazinform.com/news/kazakhstan-and-china-sign-10-agreements-at-investment-forum-in-almaty-5d9a4c
KAZAKH INVEST, 25 September 2026, https://invest.gov.kz/ru/media-center/press-releases/v-almaty-s-uchastiem-glavy-gosudarstva-prokhodit-investitsionnyy-forum-kazakhstan-kitay/
DKNews, https://dknews.kz/ru/ekonomika/405919-kazahstan-podpisal-10-soglasheniy-s-kitaem-ot
Ulys Media, https://ulysmedia.kz/news/81573-ot-kukuruzy-do-aliuminiia-o-chiom-dogovorilis-kazakhstan-i-kitai-na-forume-v-almaty/
Zakon.kz, 25 September 2026, https://www.zakon.kz/politika/6532744-kazakhstan-i-kitay-podpisali-10-soglasheniy-o-novykh-investitsionnykh-proektakh.html
KazMunayGas NC JSC, 28 August 2026, https://www.kmg.kz/ru/press-center/press-releases/obliga/
Development Bank of Kazakhstan press release (filed on KASE), 9 September 2026, https://kase.kz/files/emitters/BRKZ/brkz_relizs_090926_1.pdf
DBK notice on HKEX listing (filed on KASE), 11 September 2026, https://kase.kz/files/emitters/BRKZ/brkz_foreign_listing_100926_4622.pdf
AIFC / AIX, 9 September 2026, https://aifc.kz/ru/novosti/bank-razvitiya-kazahstana-razmestil-dim-sum-obligaczii-na-aix/
Key facts
- The Almaty City Government and Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding at the Kazakhstan-China Investment Forum to issue dim sum bonds on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
- According to KAZAKH INVEST, the dim sum bond issuance is to be organized by the city-owned Almaty Social Enterprise Company.
- The memorandum does not disclose the issuance size, tenor, interest rate, or timetable; it is currently only a cooperation intention.
- KazMunayGas issued 3.5 billion yuan of dim sum bonds in August, with Moody's assigning a Baa1 rating.
- The Development Bank of Kazakhstan issued 3.7 billion yuan of dim sum bonds in September, listed on both the Astana International Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
- Dim sum bonds are RMB bonds issued and traded outside mainland China, mainly in Hong Kong.
FAQ
Has this Almaty dim sum bond been issued yet?
Not yet. What was signed on September 25 is only a memorandum of understanding; the two parties agreed to cooperate in organizing and undertaking the issuance of dim sum bonds on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is currently only a cooperation intention.
Who is the issuer of this bond?
According to the KAZAKH INVEST press release, it is to organize the issuance of dim sum bonds on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the city-owned Almaty Social Enterprise Company.
Have the issuance size, tenor, interest rate, and timetable been determined?
It has not been disclosed in public materials, and official materials have not stated the use of the proceeds.
Which institutions in Kazakhstan have previously issued dim sum bonds?
KazMunayGas issued 3.5 billion yuan of dim sum bonds in August, and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan issued 3.7 billion yuan of dim sum bonds in September; Guotai Junan International was among the underwriters of the latter.
What is the difference between dim sum bonds and panda bonds?
Dim sum bonds are RMB bonds issued and traded outside mainland China, mainly in Hong Kong; RMB bonds issued by foreign institutions in mainland China are called panda bonds.