Bank Standard has become the first company in Azerbaijan to successfully place an entire bond issue with US investors.
The US dollar denominated issue, totalling $6 million, was offered by auction on the Baku Stock Exchange in August and bought up by two US clients of Auerbach Grayson & Company, Inc. Bank Standard is Auerbach Grayson’s exclusive partner in Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan is an excellent example of a fast-growing country that is emerging into the mainstream of international portfolio investment,” says Jonathan L. Auerbach, the Managing Director of Auerbach Grayson. “Institutional investors are becoming increasingly interested in exchange-traded bond issues and alternative instruments, in addition to equities.”
“Bank Standard is very pleased to have completed our first capital markets funding transaction with a foreign investor,” adds Salim Kriman, the CEO and Chairman of Bank Standard. “We are already seeing a growing number of international investors looking for investment opportunities in our country. We will continue to work closely with our partner, Auerbach Grayson, to develop interesting fixed income and equity transactions in our markets.”