Green bond market in Kazakhstan: Problems and prospects

Abstract

JSC “Entrepreneurship Development Fund “Damu” with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the first time in Kazakhstan placed “green” bonds in the IFCA trading system in August 2020. The issue was a debut: previously, Kazakh issuers did not issue green bonds. The authors of this research paper made an attempt to understand the relevance of this event, how the placement of “green” bonds will affect the economy of Kazakhstan, what are the prospects of these debt instruments.ьIt should be noted that “green” bonds were immediately sold out, whether this indicates the popularity and profitability of these debt instruments in Kazakhstan, because the Kazakh stock market itself is not so well developed. On the other hand, green bonds do not differ much from ordinary debt instruments in terms of yield and terms of issue. What makes them special is the purpose for which they are issued - to attract financing for “green” investment projects related, for example, to renewable energy, energy efficiency, environmentally friendly transportation, etc.

Keywords

• “green” bonds
• green financing
• green banking
• green investment projects
• eco-investments
• green bond market
• ecology and environmental protection