Kazakhstan market of bonds is waiting for stabilization of currency rate

/REUTERS, Almaty, Oljas Auezov, April 18, 03/ - Kazakhstan banks and pension funds still keep from buying long securities on account of the decrease of dollar's rate at domestic currency market and absence of long-term tenge instruments, traders say. Separate deals on purchasing of corporate eurobonds one day before offering of Kazkommertsbank's ten-year securities, after which almost all international bonds of Kazakhstan issuers rose in price. "The tendency is preserved: the rate (dollar relative to tenge) is falling, people go to tenge, and it's impossible", - said a trader of a domestic pension assets management company (PAMC). "People are waiting for neutral positions", - a trader of bank TuranAlem supposes. Within the week dollar's rate relative to tenge decreased by Friday to 151.55 from 152.14 tenge per dollar that, in traders' opinion, is concerned with the beginning of tax payments. At the same time, after last week's floatation of 10-year eurobonds by Kazkommertsbank for $350 m. with the yield to maturity equal to 8.9% APR prices of almost all corporate eurobonds increased due to correction with the new level of yield. Some Kazakhstan investors, who had no possibility to buy directly Kazkommertsbank's eurobonds, took advantage of it. "Kazkommertsbank pulled up the whole Kazakhstan market (eurobonds)", - said trader of bank CenterCredit. Situation at domestic market, in traders' opinion, in the nearest future will not change because inflow of currency proceeds remains high and choice of instruments - limited. "The period of instability will go on during the closest month ", - trader of bank TuranAlem thinks. Ministry of finance of Kazakhstan, which has not been issuing bonds since November of last year, promised to come back to the market in the second half year, and traders expect that yield of mid-term (from two to five years) securities will equal to 6.5-7.0% APR. As regards tenge instruments, only the National Bank's notes with maximum circulation term of three months and yield equal to about 5.5% APR are available for market's participants at present. [2003-04-18]