Ghana

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Three sub-Saharan African credits hit screens this week after months of capital markets absence from the continent, riding a boost from the Federal Reserve and pulling off impressive transactions with more waiting in the pipeline.

Ghana Cocoa Board has signed its first sustainability-linked loan facility, kick-starting this year’s environmental, social and governance financing in emerging markets. The deal emerges as a trio of global trade bodies have launched a set of standards to codify this fast-growing market segment, which some financiers are still trying to come to terms with. Mariam Meskin and Mike Turner report.

Ghana became the first Sub-Saharan African sovereign to access the bond market this year on Tuesday, printing tranches of dollar paper on Tuesday and receiving one of the largest order books ever for a bond from the region.

The Republic of Benin has opened books for its debut bond — a six year euro amortiser. Ghana is also expected to enter the market on Tuesday, following a roadshow to promote a dollar bond.

The Republic of Ghana has picked banks for a bond deal and tender offer, preparing to become sub-Saharan Africa’s first sovereign issuer of the year. Benin is also believed to be eyeing a debut in the international bond market.

Ghanaian banks’ avenues for dollar funding could be set to grow, after one of the country’s financial institutions entered into a total return swap with Société Générale that soothed over bottlenecks in its repo markets.

Ghana is not preparing to issue 100 year bonds this year, according to deputy finance minister Charles Adu Boahen, but has not ruled them out for 2019, although the nation is looking at different opportunities to raise long term capital.

Investors, bankers and traders have lined up to pour scorn on Ghana finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s expectations that the country will issue $5bn-$10bn of century bonds before the end of the year, the first part of a plan to sell $50bn of such bonds.

Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) signed its $1.3bn trade finance facility of Thursday, as the company prepares to start funding purchases for the coming harvest.

The Republic of Ghana raised $2bn with a dual tranche 10 and 30 year bond issue on Thursday, timing the deal well as emerging market assets rallied after several days of weakness.

The Republic of Ghana was set to price its dollar dual tranche bond as GlobalCapital went to press on Thursday evening, having picked a phenomenal day for a deal, with the bonds of several African sovereigns bouncing two points.