Mikro Leasing, a subsidiary of the international holding Mikro Kapital Group, has announced plans to issue corporate bonds on the Uzbek market in a bid to diversify sources of financing for leasing activities and increase its regional client base.

The company is aiming to open new branches and representative offices, as well as to start building a history of local fundraising as it sets out to raise the quality of corporate governance and its status as a reliable financial partner in Uzbekistan.

Mikro Leasing said that the issue volume would be no more than 8% of total assets, or 68.3% of equity capital. At the same time, the company said it was developing dynamically. It has shown a near-two-fold growth rate in key financial indicators over the last two reporting years.

So far, Mikro Leasing offers a wide range of financial leasing products such as leasing of cars, special equipment and agricultural machinery. Its clients include entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Last year, Mikro Leasing became the market leader in terms of its issued amount of leases with UZS 652bn ($57mn), ahead of the former leaders UzbekLeasing International and UzAgroLeasing, and third by portfolio size.

The company’s market share picks up to 20% in new contracts and almost 9% in terms of its portfolio. More than half of the company’s portfolio is based on Hyundai car sales in Uzbekistan, while in 2023 the company is growing agricultural machinery leasing, which already covers up to a 15% share in the portfolio structure.

Over the past three years, the company’s revenues almost annually doubled on an average cumulative basis from UZS 38bn to UZS 146bn. The leasing portfolio surged by six times up to UZS 603bn. The company is maintaining high margins of operations. It recorded a close to 30% EBIT margin in 2022, though that fell from the previous 37% level due to growth of interest costs on local funding from the banks.

The net loan portfolio was worth about UZS 577bn as of the end of April. The company has access to foreign capital. It is among the very few companies in Uzbekistan connected to the Mintos platform (an international platform for investing in private loans).

Almost 90% of debt is provided by affiliated companies and the holding company – mostly in the UZS-denominated form at 20-22% interest. Around 8-9% of loans are EUR-denominated. They come from Mintos at 10% interest. The remainder is local funding. The company borrows at a rate of 20-22% on average and leases at a rate of 29%-39% in local currency.