Baiterek Holding Gives Momentum to Expanding Lending to the Real Sector of the Economy

On April 16, in Almaty, Zhandos Shaikhi, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of ‘Baiterek’ National Managing Holding JSC, held an off-site in-person meeting of the Project Management Office on Lending to the Real Sector of the Economy.

The event was attended by executives of second-tier banks, subsidiaries of Baiterek Holding, the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, and the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan.

Previously, it was reported that, in line with the instruction of the Head of State aimed at financing the real sector of the economy, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan will channel approximately KZT 8 trillion through Baiterek Holding to support entrepreneurship, housing construction, and the implementation of key national and investment projects.

One of the key measures in this area is the introduction of a conditional financing tool with a unified interest rate for end borrowers set at 12.6%, along with the development of guarantee fund mechanisms based on Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund JSC to support new economic projects.

In addition, the meeting covered issues related to optimizing the credit portfolio management of the Holding’s subsidiaries.

Chairman of the Management Board of Damu Fund, Farhat Sarsekeyev, noted that at this stage, agreements have been signed to participate in the SME Guarantee Fund with second-tier banks such as Bank CenterCredit, Halyk Bank, Freedom Bank, and ForteBank, with further expansion of the list of participants planned.

It was also announced that a Virtual Data Room (VDR) will be established within Baiterek Holding to ensure efficiency and transparency in the financing of investment projects.

The meeting also included presentations of investment projects by the Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK), which may be implemented jointly with second-tier banks. It was emphasized that DBK has extensive experience in working with both international syndicates and syndicates operating under Kazakhstani law.

“The Development Bank of Kazakhstan is consistently expanding its partnerships with financial institutions. Such meetings allow for the prompt alignment of financing approaches and facilitate joint efforts to support domestic entrepreneurship and implement investment projects,” — said Marat Yelibayev, Chairman of the Management Board of DBK.

During the meeting, Madina Erzhanova, Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board of the Export Credit Agency of Kazakhstan JSC, presented the Agency’s support tools and invited second-tier banks to actively participate in financing projects with export components, including through loan insurance, guarantees, and pre-export financing instruments.

As part of the working trip, additional bilateral meetings were also held with second-tier bank executives and borrowers. The discussions focused on opportunities for expanding cooperation, joint implementation of investment projects, and the introduction of new financial instruments, including updated credit guarantee mechanisms via the guarantee fund based on Damu Fund.