Kazakhstan: bonds, indices, credit ratings

Domestic government securities market of Kazakhstan is presented by the government treasury bills of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The amount and terms of each issue of the treasury bills are determined by the issuer to the limit of government debt and expenses for its service, as stipulated by the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the national budget for the relevant period.

The State Borrowing Department, a structural subdivision of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is engaged in ensuring regulation, government and government-guaranteed borrowings. The Department identifies the main areas of the government debt policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and forms a plan for issuing government securities. Relevant documents are available on the website of the unified platform of web resources of the government agencies of Kazakhstan.

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan issues the following types of the treasury bills:
• MEKKAM are short-term treasury bills with a maturity of up to 12 months, issued at a discount to nominal value;
• MEOKAM are mid-term treasury bills with a fixed coupon, issued with maturities of 1 to 5 years. The coupon is paid twice a year;
• MEUKAM are long-term treasury bills with a fixed coupon, issued with a maturity of over 5 years. Coupon is paid once a year;
• MOIKAM are mid-term treasury bills with an indexed coupon, issued with maturities of 1 to 5 years. Payment of the indexed coupon is made twice a year, and indexation is tied to the inflation value for the expired coupon period;
• MUIKAM are long-term treasury bills with an indexed coupon, issued with a maturity of over 5 years. Payment of the indexed coupon is made once a year, and indexation is also tied to the inflation value for the expired coupon period;
• MEUJKAM are long-term savings treasury bills with an indexed coupon. MEUDjKAM are similar to MUIKAM in terms of their properties. The only difference between them is that for a half of the maturity period MEUDjKAM bills are traded among pension funds, JSC Unified Accumulative Pension Fund, life insurance companies, as well as JSC State Social Insurance Fund. Upon expiry of the specified period, treasury bills can be traded freely;
• MAOKAM are special mid-term treasury bills in US dollars with maturities of 2 and 3 years. They are placed among individuals by subscription. A fixed coupon is paid on those securities twice a year.

Treasury bills are placed at auctions held by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan by subscription and other trading methods as determined by the internal regulations. Information on the dates and planned amount of treasury bills placement is published on the website of Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).