Africa
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The number of emerging market syndicated loans is in decline for the fourth year in a row, according to Dealogic data. Bankers' outlooks for the rest of the year err on the pessimistic side, with the fallout from the pandemic being the main concern. -
African Export-Import Bank launched a dual tranche dollar bond on Monday morning, with orders exceeding $3bn by midday. Emerging market bank issuers have been especially active in recent month thanks to attractive credit conditions.
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South African investment company Remgro has reduced its stake in FirstRand, one of the country’s largest financial services groups, via an accelerated bookbuild.
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The Singapore-incorporated global energy company Puma Energy has bounced back after a planned bond issuance last year failed to materialise, raising $590m in the loan market. Sources say the company’s change of management and reorganisation brought a “sense of relief”.
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As its debt-to-GDP ratio inflates and its public finances come under pressure, some have wondered if Tunisia will succumb to a debt restructuring process. But the governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia, Marouane El Abassi, told GlobalCapital that the country is intent on securing new IMF funding as a prerequisite to entering capital markets.
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A consortium of international lenders is funding the development of Egypt’s largest solar plant.
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Airtel Africa, the UK telecommunication company providing services across Africa, has raised $500m from a range of international lenders. It becomes one of the latest Africa-based issuers to inject activity into the syndicated loan market.
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Amid a broader downturn in emerging market syndicated loans, several African issuers — including sovereigns — are seeking debt facilities from international lenders.
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An uneven economic recovery is expected across emerging and developed markets over the next year, the IMF said this week during its spring meetings. Meanwhile, a proposed boost to special drawing rights has split market opinion.
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The announcement this week that the IMF is on its way to issuing a further $650bn of special drawing rights, providing central banks with extra foreign currency liquidity, should not be criticised for being too little, too late. It marks a much needed return to multilateralism, something that the developing world will benefit from.
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Volatility in the US Treasury market has been the thorn in emerging market bond issuers' sides this quarter. Though bankers had expected borrowers front-load issuance, concerns about global interest rates and investor appetite have dulled volumes.
