Africa Loans

Saudi Arabian food and beverage producer Almarai has secured a $100m loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to support expansion in Egypt and Jordan.

Nabil Lahham has joined HSBC to head up advisory and corporate finance coverage for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. He was most recently at Perella Weinberg Partners.

Ghana Cocoa Board, the central organisation for Ghana’s cocoa industry, will close a $600m syndicated loan this week, according to bankers. This loan is the borrower’s third outing in 12 months.

The risk that huge amounts of oil and gas assets will be stranded by moves to tackle the climate emergency may be more pertinent for sovereign credit than for private sector corporate debt, according to new research.

Angolan national oil company Sonangol will soon launch syndication for a loan that could be as large as $1bn, according to bankers, though most expect the African pipeline in the early year to remain muted.

Danakali, an Australian potash company, has raised a $200m credit facility from African lenders. Proceeds of the syndicated facility will go towards funding the planned Colluli potash project in Eritrea.

Investec has entered the loan market for the third time this year, taking a $450m two year term loan from a range of international lenders.

International lenders and the Loan Market Association (LMA) are worried about emerging markets’ nonchalance towards the end of Libor in 2021. Fears are mounting that local lenders, in particular, those in Africa, will be “hit by a juggernaut” when the benchmark rate is discontinued, writes Mariam Meskin.

Lagos-headquartered multilateral finance institution Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) signed a $140m-equivalent syndicated Kimchi term loan facility with Shinhan Bank — its first Korean-focused tool, as the bank diversifies its funding sources.

Nedbank has closed a $500m term loan, while Investec has launched its own syndicated loan, indicating that despite concerns about South Africa’s ratings outlook, its borrowers maintain access to international syndicated loans.

Ghanaian cocoa agency, Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), will raise a $600m loan from supranational and international lenders. The deal is Cocobod's third syndicated loan this year.

Moody’s has downgraded South Africa’s outlook from stable to negative, in what some think is the precursor to the country being classified as a junk borrower. Lenders — in characteristic fashion — have shrugged off the implications for the country’s borrowers, claiming they enjoy a strong national banking system.