Africa

African Export-Import Bank has closed a $500m five year term loan, it announced on Wednesday, partly guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of China. The presence of a mainly Asian syndicate has sparked discussion about the continually increasing Chinese capital flowing into Africa.

Pessimism hangs over Nigeria's chances of entering the loan market in 2019 as the country battles an economic slowdown, a commodity slump and political uncertainty. But not all loans bankers are so glum about the chances of Africa's most populous nation and biggest oil producer raising debt from international financiers.

Africa Finance Corp has raised a $300m loan facility from a consortium of international lenders.

ZOLA Electric, formerly Off Grid Electric, has raised a $32.5m credit facility with development bank, FMO, and investment firm, Symbiotics.

Thirteen emerging market sovereigns will face their first bond market redemptions over the next seven years and, with financing conditions set to become more difficult, market participants are watching them carefully.

The party looks to be over in emerging market bonds leaving borrowers with one heck of a funding hangover. Years of low rates have prompted a debt splurge from borrowers able to fund at ever lower coupons. But just as dollar rates are on the increase, those credits are racing towards a $2tr maturity wall and the problem of how to refinance it in a market that has presented clear symptoms of risk fatigue this year shows no sign of abating. Lewis McLellan and Francesca Young report.

It was never going to last. Bitcoin has ended its three month holiday from volatility and begun to crash once more. The cryptocurrency market is looking for a new floor.

Cameroon’s Nachtigal Hydro Power Co has raised euro loans, estimated at above €900m, to fund construction of a €1.2bn 420MW hydroelectric plant on the Sanaga river near Yaounde. Most of the debt is coming from development finance institutions, but a few commercial banks are involved.

Bharti Airtel, the Indian telecommunications conglomerate, has named an eight bank syndicate for the 2019 flotation of its Africa business, Airtel Africa.

Société Générale has agreed to pay $1.34bn in fines and an enhanced monitoring programme for violating US sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Myanmar and North Korea, according to notices issued by US agencies on Monday.

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Nigeria was on Wednesday able to print the full size of the bond issue approved by its parliament, paying up for the privilege but drawing praise for managing a market that proved too tough for many.