Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — JSC Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan has signed a strategic agreement with the shareholders of Uzbekistan’s payment company Click to acquire a 49% stake in the company. Simultaneously, Click’s shareholders will acquire a 49% stake in Halyk’s subsidiary in Uzbekistan — Tenge Bank.

Under the agreement, Halyk will invest US$176.4 million to acquire its stake in Click. In return, Click’s shareholders will pay US$60.76 million for an equivalent share in Tenge Bank. Both companies will continue to operate as independent legal entities, ensuring their autonomy while engaging in close partnership.

The transactions are expected to be finalized once regulatory approvals are received in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

This agreement opens new opportunities for synergy between two market leaders. Halyk Bank is the largest financial group in Central Asia, with over US$37.5 billion in assets and a market capitalization of US$6.8 billion. It offers a full range of financial and ecosystem services, including retail and corporate banking, insurance, leasing, brokerage, and asset management. The bank holds strong investment-grade credit ratings from Moody’s (Baa1), S&P, and Fitch (both at BBB-).

Click is Uzbekistan’s leading fintech player with over 20 million users. Its digital platform integrates bank cards and electronic wallets (over 10 million in total), and hosts dozens of mini-services ranging from insurance and online payments to delivery, auto services, charity, loan repayments, and access to government services. In 2024, the company’s revenue grew by 35.3%, and its profit increased by 37.5%.

The partnership between Halyk and Click aims to strengthen their position in Uzbekistan’s rapidly growing digital finance and ecosystem market. The integration of technological and infrastructural capabilities will allow the two companies to offer improved products for both businesses — large and small — and the mass consumer segment.

As of 1 July 2025, Halyk’s total investment in Uzbekistan has reached US$1.5 billion. The bank continues to implement its long-term strategy for expansion in the country and the wider region.

Thanks to this partnership, Halyk Group’s combined potential customer base in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan may exceed 32 million people. This is particularly significant given the combined population of the two countries — more than 58 million — and over 2.6 million registered small businesses and individual entrepreneurs.

Halyk Bank shares have been traded on the London Stock Exchange since 2006. Currently, 28.3% of the bank’s shares are held by international institutional investors from the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Asia.

The partnership with Click creates new opportunities to raise the profile of Uzbekistan’s private sector on international markets and could mark an important step toward enhancing the investment appeal of the entire Central Asian region.

Click and Tenge Bank will continue operating as usual. All customer obligations remain in effect, and all existing contracts will be honored without changes.