Tbilisi (GBC) - TBC Bank Group PLC (“TBC PLC”) announces the placement of a $200 million bond to further accelerate the growth of TBC Uzbekistan.
The synthetic three-year bond, denominated in Uzbek sum (settled in U.S. dollars), carries a 22% Uzbek sum coupon, and will be issued in several tranches. The first tranche will unlock an initial $140 million in funding, with the remaining $60 million available to be tapped over the coming 12-18 months. Strong demand for the notes, listed on the Vienna Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF), reflects ongoing investor confidence in the Group’s strategy, as well as increasing interest in Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s largest country by population and a rapidly-growing economy with vast untapped potential.
The proceeds from this debt issuance will be used to leverage TBC Uzbekistan’s growth momentum and further expand the ecosystem’s product suite, as the digital banking powerhouse continues to diversify its market-leading offering and enter new high-growth segments, including SME banking and lending.
The new investment will enable the Group to move even faster in Uzbekistan, where its digital banking ecosystem continues to deliver rapid growth, doubling its loan book and revenue year-on-year in 1Q 25 and accounting for 21% of total Group revenue. As its core business continues to scale rapidly and profitably, TBC Uzbekistan has been making significant investments into business development, key infrastructure and talent acquisition, with these efforts set to be accelerated and supported by the new funding.
TBC Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s leading digital banking ecosystem with 19.7 million registered users, encompasses three high-growth fintech businesses: TBC UZ, the country’s largest digital bank; Payme, a digital payments app for individuals and small businesses; and Payme Nasiya (Payme Instalments), a fast-growing instalment credit business.
“We are pleased to announce this bond issuance, unlocking further investment into our fast-growing Uzbekistan business. The strong demand for the notes underscores investor continued confidence in our profitable growth strategy and in the vast opportunities Uzbekistan presents. It also showcases synergies within the publicly listed Group, which help accelerate our continued progress and momentum in Uzbekistan. I’m confident that TBC Uzbekistan will continue to grow profitably and make an increasingly significant contribution to the Group’s performance, as the ecosystem remains fully on track to meet its targets for the year”, - Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, CEO of TBC PLC, commented.
“We have been growing rapidly in Uzbekistan, reaching 19.7 million registered users and doubling our revenue and loan book year-on-year in 1Q25. With strong profitability underpinning our operations, TBC Uzbekistan is focused on expanding its product range and leveraging new synergies to drive customer engagement and revenue growth. This new funding will allow us to accelerate our efforts in this direction, including by bringing best-in-class products for SMEs to the market and maintaining our leading position in Uzbekistan’s digital banking sector”, - Oliver Hughes, Head of International Business, TBC PLC, commented.