Africa

Ninety One, the asset management division of Investec, has announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange, formally launching what is likely to be one of the largest UK IPOs this quarter.

EU member states plan to agree on a common candidate to succeed the UK’s Suma Chakrabarti as president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development after his term ends in May. France, Italy and Poland have each put a name forward.

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.

South African gold mining company Gold Fields Ltd has raised R3.7bn ($252m) of fresh capital to fund the construction of a new mine in Chile.

Long duration bonds, such as Ghana’s 40 year tranche sold this week, are a great idea for African issuers, leaving the borrower’s ability to manage its debt in its own hands rather than at the whims of the market.

The Republic of Ghana printed a $3bn triple trancher on Tuesday from a book that was $14bn at launch, in a deal that included the longest ever bond from sub-Saharan Africa.

The Republic of Ghana has released price guidance for a dollar amortising triple tranche bond, including a deal with a 40 year weighted average life — the longest ever from a sub-Saharan African issuer, according to a lead manager on the note.

The Gabonese Republic pulled in more than $3bn of demand on Thursday for a $1bn 10 year bond that some observers saw as having been priced flat to its curve.

A popular frontier market trade in Nigerian open market operations (OMOs), central bank securities, has been faltering on the back of local currency depreciation, which if deepened will force foreign market participants to consider eating into their returns with an FX hedge.

The Gabonese Republic has released price guidance on its first benchmark Eurobond since 2015.

The Republic of Ghana is visiting investors in the US and London with a plan to print a dollar benchmark. But the delegation’s rumoured size has led to surprises before the meetings have started.

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.