Nation Building Bond (Gelephu Mindfulness City)
From BhutanWiki, the people's encyclopedia of Bhutan · business · Reviewed
The Nation Building Bond, formally the Gelephu Mindfulness City Nation Building Bond (GNBB), is a retail sovereign-project bond launched on 2 May 2025 by the Gelephu Investment and Development Corporation (GIDC) in partnership with Gelephu Mindfulness City, with proceeds directed to the construction of the Gelephu International Airport.[1]
Offered exclusively to Bhutanese retail investors, the bond carries a ten-year term, a 10 per cent annual coupon, and tax-exempt status, and is to be listed on the Royal Securities Exchange of Bhutan.[2] The issue was framed less as a financing instrument than as an act of participation — in GIDC's words at launch, "not just an investment offer – it is a national invitation."[1]
Subscription
The offering closed having raised Nu 3.347 billion (~USD 38 million), well past its initial Nu 2 billion target, from 35,403 individual subscribers across all twenty dzongkhags — the widest citizen participation recorded in Bhutan's capital markets.[2] The diaspora participated alongside residents: a Ministry of Finance report linked part of the 2025 surge in inward remittances to family investments at home, including GNBB subscriptions.[3]
Context
The GNBB extends a short national history of domestic sovereign borrowing that began when Bhutan issued its first government bond in 2020 to finance the COVID-19 response.[4] For the Gelephu project, the bond serves a double purpose: a modest tranche of airport financing, and a demonstration — to the government and to foreign investors — of domestic buy-in for the special administrative region's flagship infrastructure.
See also
- Gelephu International Airport
- Gelephu Mindfulness City
- Remit Bhutan
- Fintech and virtual assets in Gelephu Mindfulness City
References
Related articles
Know something about this topic? Edit this article or . Anonymous contributions welcome — no account required.