Africa

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the pan-African development finance institution, has held investor calls ahead of its first green bond issue that Swiss franc bankers expect to launch next week.

The Africa Finance Corporation, the pan-African development finance institution (DFI), has mandated a pair of banks to lead its first ever green bond issue, which it will sell publicly into the Swiss franc market.

There is growing concern among African policymakers that indebted low income countries face growing risks of downgrades and even default because of a lack of coordinated support from public and private institutions.

The coronavirus pandemic has ramped up African sovereigns’ need to spend, resulting in a wave of credit rating downgrades. But market participants are split over the perception of credit risk in the region and how that will affect future issuance.

The Arab Republic of Egypt — a frequent bond issuer — has signed its first syndicated loan. Egypt’s debut in the market, bankers said, is an attempt to diversify its funding to support an expanding state budget, just months after its debut green bond was delayed due to Covid-19. Mariam Meskin reports.

The Arab Republic of Egypt has secured its debut syndicated conventional and Islamic facility from a range of local and international lenders as it attempts to support the state budget, which has come under major pressure during the coronavirus crisis.

Political interference in central bank business is rarely a smart move, especially for emerging market countries trying to win the respect of international markets. But it’s an even more reckless endeavour in the midst of a global crisis, especially for a debt-ridden country like Zambia.

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South Africa’s Standard Bank is set to raise a syndicated loan by the end of the month, which, according to market sources, will be provided by Chinese banks. But bankers say the pipeline for syndicated loans in Africa and the Middle East remains nearly empty, as both lenders and borrowers continue to feel the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company has raised a financing package, backed by multilateral lenders, commercial banks and oil trading companies.

Prosus made a barnstorming debut outing in the European bond market after Monday’s dollar trade, with the ecommerce and investment company that straddles investment grade and emerging market investor interest seeing €13.5bn of demand for a €1bn deal.