A ceremonial listing of the first-ever panda bonds in the history of Kazakhstan and Central Asia, issued by Samruk-Kazyna on China’s domestic market, was held in Astana.

The debut issuance, with a total size of CNY 3 billion and a three-year tenor, was priced at a record-low yield of 2.18% per annum. This reflects the high level of confidence among Chinese institutional investors and confirms the strong credit quality of the issuer (the Fund’s credit ratings aligned with sovereign levels).

The transaction represents a landmark and breakthrough for the region, marking a new stage in capital market development and, for the first time, providing direct access to China’s domestic debt market—one of the largest and most liquid in the world.

The ceremony was attended by senior management of Samruk-Kazyna, representatives of international financial institutions, leading underwriters and transaction partners, including Bank of China, China International Capital Corporation, China Construction Bank, Deutsche Bank (China), as well as legal advisors to the transaction.

Speaking at the event, Nurlan Zhakupov, Chairman of the Management Board of Samruk-Kazyna, noted that the listing of the panda bonds represents an important step in Kazakhstan’s integration into global capital markets and reflects the Fund’s long-term strategy to diversify its sources of financing.

“This is an important step in our integration into global capital markets—our first entry into China’s domestic market. The issuance demonstrated a high level of investor confidence in the Fund and its financial resilience, and also marked an important milestone in strengthening the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and China,” he said.

He also added that the proceeds will be allocated to key investment projects across the Samruk-Kazyna Group.

Bank of China, as Lead Underwriter and Lead Bookrunner, commented: “This transaction marks the first-ever Panda Bond issuance by an entity from Kazakhstan and Central Asia. It represents a major achievement in high-level, mutually beneficial financial cooperation between China and Kazakhstan and serves as an important example of deepening collaboration within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.”

Representatives of China International Capital Corporation, as Joint Lead Underwriter and Joint Bookrunner, added: “We are honored to have served as an underwriter for this landmark Panda Bond issuance by Samruk-Kazyna. This transaction represents a historic milestone—the first Panda Bond issuance by a Central Asian issuer in China’s onshore RMB bond market and the first such issuance by a sovereign wealth fund. The offering attracted exceptionally strong investor interest and broad participation from a diverse group of institutional investors. For CICC, this achievement reflects our continued commitment to fostering investor base diversification and strengthening market connectivity within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.”

The ceremony concluded with a symbolic launch of trading on the Astana International Exchange, where participants pressed the trading start button, officially marking the commencement of secondary market trading of the panda bonds.