Kazakhstan has found itself in an uncertain situation, the likes of which it has not known for a decade or so, as international sanctions linked to Russia, the vagaries of the international commodity markets and political and economic change take their toll on the country and its political and economic landscape.
This is evident in the decision to hold off announcing the date of the launch of its sovereign bond. The issue has been left hanging because of "the great uncertainty", according to Kairat Kelimbetov, the governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK). The country is understood to be in discussions with issuers over the structure of a bond, likely to be around either the $500m or $1bn mark. The uncertainty has put many programmes to launch Kazakh initial public offerings and corporate bonds on hold.
