Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund, has gone to the offshore renminbi market. On October 15 it opened books on two tranches of CNH-denominated notes, a 3-year and a 5-year, with initial price guidance in the 2.70% area and the 2.85% area. Settlement is scheduled for October 23. Final coupons and the deal size will be set once the book closes.
The Astana International Exchange (AIX) announced the bookbuilding on its official channel the same day, and local bookrunner Teniz Capital Investment Banking published the term sheet. According to the term sheet, the paper is senior unsecured fixed-rate notes drawn down from the fund's USD 1.5 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme, to be listed in Hong Kong and on AIX, with proceeds for general corporate purposes. The size line reads only "CNH Benchmark"; no figure is given.
The programme itself is new. Its base offering memorandum is dated September 30 and was posted on HKEXnews on October 2. The memorandum says proceeds may be on-lent to subsidiaries for investment and export development, trade finance and refinancing existing debt. Kursiv, which went through the document on October 15, noted that the fund has applied to have notes under the programme admitted in London and Hong Kong.
The syndicate says a lot about where the money is expected to come from. The term sheet names seven joint global coordinators: Citi, Guotai Junan International, Standard Chartered, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Bank of China London Branch, China CITIC Bank International and ICBC (Asia). Six more firms sit as joint lead managers and bookrunners: BOCOM International, CICC, CITIC Securities, the Hong Kong branches of Industrial Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and CCB International. Counting from that list, 11 of the 13 international banks are Chinese. Reuters, citing a Teniz notice on October 14, reported a nearly identical line-up and said investor calls were starting that day.
The term sheet marks settlement as T+5. Counting back five business days from October 23 puts the trade date on October 16, so pricing could come shortly. That is our arithmetic from the term sheet; the issuer has not announced a pricing date.
The fund is not new to the currency. In April it sold a debut panda bond in China's interbank market: RMB 3 billion, three years, 2.18%, with Bank of China as lead underwriter, as both the fund and the bank reported. Set side by side, the new 3-year guidance sits about 52 basis points above April's coupon. The comparison is rough: onshore versus offshore, six months apart, and guidance is not a final price. The group has also tapped dim sum before. The debt table in the HKEX memorandum lists a 2025 renminbi bond listed on AIX and HKEX, RMB 1.25 billion due 2030 at 2.95%, which IFR identified as KazMunayGas's debut dim sum deal.
Why AIX keeps turning up in these deals is spelled out in the memorandum. When the fund issues abroad, at least 30% of each series must be offered through the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) and/or AIX on the same terms, and at least 20% of the principal must actually be placed there. From October 21, 2026, exceptions apply: the rule falls away if the foreign placement is on better terms for the issuer or there is no demand on KASE or AIX, with criteria to be set by the regulator. Kursiv flagged the same two points. This deal settles two days after the exceptions take effect, so how much ends up with local investors will only be clear from the pricing supplement.
Two more details matter for Chinese companies and lenders active in Kazakhstan. In Hong Kong the notes are for professional investors only, as the HKEX filing states. And the memorandum and term sheet both give the issuer ratings as Baa1 from Moody's and BBB from Fitch, each with a stable outlook. Samruk-Kazyna's portfolio spans oil and gas, transport, power, mining and telecoms, and the price it achieves in offshore renminbi could become a reference point when those companies borrow in the currency. That is our assessment, not the issuer's.
Sources:
Astana International Exchange (AIX), official Telegram channel (primary), https://t.me/aixkz/2101
Teniz Capital Investment Banking, term sheet (primary), https://tenizcap.kz/en/press-center/teniz-capital-obyavlyaet-pervonachalnyy-cenovoy-orientir-po-obligaciyam-samruk-azyna-v-cnh
HKEXnews: Samruk-Kazyna USD 1.5bn MTN Programme base offering memorandum (primary), https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/1002/2026100200853.pdf
Kursiv, https://kz.kursiv.media/2026-10-15/svan-samruk-kazyna-mozhet-zanyat-do-15-mlrd-v-londone-gonkonge-i-kazahstane/
Reuters (via The Moscow Times, Russian edition), https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/14/samruk-kazyna-khochet-razmestit-dim-sam-bondy-provedet-zvonki-s-investorami-s-14-okt-a208553
Trend.az (citing AIX), https://www.trend.az/casia/kazakhstan/4235025.html
Samruk-Kazyna press release on the panda bond (primary), https://sk.kz/press-center/news/78952/?lang=ru
Bank of China (panda bond), https://www.bankofchina.com/english/whatsnew/news/202604/t20260409_25667930.html
IFR (panda bond and KMG dim sum background), https://www.ifre.com/bonds/2408638/kazakhstan-swf-makes-panda-debut
(Cover is an AI-generated schematic vector illustration, not a documentary photo and not a depiction of any specific object in this story.)
Key facts
- On October 15, Samruk-Kazyna began bookbuilding for an offshore renminbi bond, split into three- and five-year tranches.
- Initial price guidance is around 2.70% for the three-year tranche and 2.85% for the five-year tranche, with settlement scheduled for October 23.
- The bonds are planned for dual listing on the HKEX and AIX, and the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
- The term sheet lists 13 international underwriters, 11 of which are Chinese institutions.
- In April this year, Samruk-Kazyna issued a three-year CNY 3 billion Panda bond on China’s interbank market at a coupon rate of 2.18%.
- The issuer ratings stated in the memorandum and term sheet are Moody’s Baa1 and Fitch BBB, both with stable outlooks.
FAQ
What are the tenor, rate guidance, and settlement date of the bond?
The bond is split into three- and five-year tranches, with initial price guidance of around 2.70% and 2.85%, respectively. Settlement is scheduled for October 23, while the final interest rate and issue size will be determined only after bookbuilding is completed.
How will the proceeds be used?
The term sheet explicitly provides for use of the proceeds for general corporate purposes; the base offering memorandum also states that they may be lent to the company’s subsidiaries for investment and export development, trade financing, and repayment of existing debt.
Where are the bonds planned to be listed, and which investors will they target?
The bonds are planned for dual listing on the HKEX and AIX; in Hong Kong, they will be offered only to professional investors.
What are the key features of the underwriting syndicate?
The term sheet lists seven joint global coordinators and six joint lead managers and bookrunners. According to the roster, 11 of the 13 international institutions are Chinese.
How does it compare with the Panda bond issued in April this year?
In April, the company issued a three-year CNY 3 billion Panda bond on China’s interbank market at a coupon rate of 2.18%. Although the tenor is also three years, the guidance for this offshore issue is approximately 52 basis points higher. However, the onshore and offshore markets differ, and the guidance is not the transaction price, so it should be used only as a reference.