Africa Loans

How the Schuldschein market reacts when a borrower has payment difficulties has been a perennial question since the instrument reached a global audience. The revelations about possible false accounting at Steinhoff are likely to prove one of the market's biggest tests yet.

Steinhoff International’s shares jolted downwards again today as it met its banks in London, seeking their support to get through the difficulties caused by apparent false accounting.

Africa Finance Corp, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution (DFI), has closed a $200m loan with five banks.

The travails of Steinhoff International, the embattled South African retail holding company, deepened today as Christo Wiese, the entrepreneur who has built up the business, resigned as chairman.

South Africa’s FirstRand Bank signed a syndicated loan with 21 banks on Thursday for $700m, $200m higher than its launch amount, despite South Africa’s recent rating downgrade, which also led to a downgrade for FirstRand.

Tullow Oil, the oil company headquartered in London but with operations predominantly in Africa, has signed $2.5bn of reserve-based lending (RBL) facilities to refinance existing deals with its relationship banks.

Global Telecom, a telecommunications company founded in Egypt and headquartered in the Netherlands, has extended a $200m loan by six months.

South Africa’s distressed Steinhoff has moved its meeting with lenders from Monday to next Tuesday, following its revelation on accounting irregularities last week.

South Africa’s second largest private hospital operator Life Healthcare group has signed a £350m syndicated loan to refinance its acquisition of UK-based Alliance Medical group last year.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and a syndicate of lenders have provided a $2.73bn loan to finance the construction of a railway and upgrade a port in Mozambique, which will ensure the long term supply of coal to Japan from the African country.

Energy and chemical company Sasol has signed South Africa’s biggest loan deal of the year so far — a $3.9bn revolving credit facility with 17 banks.

Afreximbank has activated the accordion feature on a 'Samurai' loan, aimed at Asian banks, it signed in March, increasing the loan amount to $150m. Two new banks have joined the facility.