Bank of Asia CJSC presented a program for issuing the first gender bonds
On October 20, 2022, with the support of the Presidential Administration of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Institute for Economic Policy Research, a round table was held on the topic "Issue of the first social bonds (gender) in the Kyrgyz Republic", which was attended by representatives of the Presidential Administration of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Institute for Economic Policy Research of the Kyrgyz Republic, the National Investment Agency under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, Social Fund of the Kyrgyz Republic, Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, International Development Funds in the Kyrgyz Republic, the Kyrgyz Stock Exchange, the UN-Women Structure in the Kyrgyz Republic, the GFC representative office in Bishkek, the Financial Company "Senti", JSC "Kyrgyzindustria", the non-state pension Fund "Kyrgyzstan", the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Center for International Private Entrepreneurship, insurance companies.
Zemfira Akishovna Atakishieva, Chairperson of the Management Board of Bank of Asia CJSC, presented the Bank's program for issuing gender bonds. One of the strategic directions of the Bank is the sustainable development and implementation of ESG components (environmental, social and corporate governance — "ecology, social development and corporate governance"). The issuing purpose of gender bonds is to draw attention to gender inequality and empower women, including economic ones. At the current stage, the Bank has passed the verification procedure of gender bonds to the standards set out in the Principles of Social Bonds of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), and also received confirmation (second opinion) from the GFC (AIFC Astana). In its program, the Bank focuses on responsible investment and financing approaches as a key initiative of the financial sector in the practice of implementing social responsibility and sustainable development. Speaking at the round table, Zemfira Akishovna urged the participants of the round table to invest in the Bank's gender bonds.
Almaz Nasirdinovich Isanov, Head of the Department of Political and Economic Research of the Office of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, noted the importance of the Bank of Asia CJSC project on the issue of social bonds and their possibilities. Achieving gender equality and empowering women, as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goal, is crucial for the progress of humanity and the full realization of its potential. Taking into account the importance of this project, Isanov A.N. called on all participants of the round table to act as responsible investors.
"Kyrgyzstan has all the conditions for the development of ESG bonds and today Bank of Asia CJSC will become the first issuing bank of social gender bonds introducing financial instruments for sustainable development. The issue of sustainable "green" and social bonds is one of the most used tools for attracting investment resources. The stock market is an effective mechanism for attracting investments into the domestic economy," said Medetbek Nazaraliev, President of the Kyrgyz Stock Exchange CJSC.
The UN Women organization is actively involved in the promotion of the social bond issue project, which assisted in the development of criteria for the selection of women entrepreneurs and facilitating the process of preparing the launch of the first gender bonds, and will also take an active part in further monitoring and evaluation, immediately before considering financing projects. The Financial company "Senti" is involved in the program of the Bank of Asia, it acts as an underwriter for the placement of bonds.
During the meeting, participants discussed about attending the participants in the Bank's program as investors, and the main parameters, as well as ways to solve them, were discussed.
