Africa Loans

Investec Bank launched a $300m two year term loan this week to refinance a three year facility signed in February 2015. The deal comes after Moody's downgraded South Africa's five biggest banks on Monday, following the sovereign downgrade last Friday.

Afreximbank has closed its largest ever syndicated loan at $1.2bn with 35 banks, its second facility of the year, after a Samurai in April.

Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) has mandated six banks to arrange financing for its annual cocoa season, according to a public statement.

The Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), the government institution that supervises Ghana’s cocoa industry, is set to begin the roadshow for its annual syndicated loan in June, according to a banker on the deal.

Chinese loan banks are appearing in more and more emerging market loan deals this year, as they race towards the loan market big league, but while their hunger for market share is evident, they're still taking a conservative approach.

African agriculture conglomerate Export Trading Group (ETG) has approached the loan market for a borrowing of up to $100m.

South Africa’s Nedbank signed a $450m syndicated loan in an oversubscribed deal on Tuesday, adding to the rising trend of emerging markets borrowers turning to Asian banks for capital.

Kenya’s $500m loan from development financial institutions (DFIs) will be syndicated six months from its signing date, to avoid clashing with the country's commercial loan of $1bn from international banks, according to one of the bankers on the deal.

Afreximbank’s second syndicated loan this year is expected to grow from the initial asking amount of $700m as banks pile in to join, according to bankers on the deal.

Kenya has signed a $1bn loan, an increase on the initial launch amount, with around 20 banks, said a banker on the deal.

Afreximbank has mandated 14 banks to syndicate a $700m loan, a little over a week after securing a Samurai facility of around $100m.

Even as South Africa and Halkbank prove that idiosyncratic risks are ever present in in emerging market bonds, conditions remain beyond syndicate bankers wildest dreams. That is good news for the bulging pipeline.