Kazakhstan's QazaqGaz raises $700M in bond offering

What's the deal? QazaqGaz, Kazakhstan's state-owned gas company, has completed a $700M bond offering — issuing 5.625% guaranteed notes due 2036. The deal also included a liability management exercise involving a tender offer and consent solicitation on the company's outstanding bonds.

Citigroup Global Markets Limited and J.P. Morgan Securities plc served as joint global coordinators and dealer managers, with MUFG Securities EMEA plc and Oman Investment Bank as joint bookrunners. Sidley Austin advised the banks on the transaction.

QazaqGaz operates the largest gas transmission network in Central Asia and is a portfolio company of Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund.

Why now? The offering was structured as a Regulation S/Rule 144A issuance, giving QazaqGaz access to both international and US institutional investors. The concurrent liability management exercise suggests the company is refinancing existing debt while locking in a decade-long maturity at current rates.

The signal: Central Asian sovereign-backed issuers continue to find receptive international debt markets. QazaqGaz's deal follows a broader trend of emerging-market energy companies tapping global capital markets to fund infrastructure and refinance obligations — a sign of sustained investor appetite for commodity-linked sovereign credit.

Read more: sidley.com