Nigeria

After a year of muted issuance, two African sovereigns met investors in London this week. While both Angola and Nigeria held non-deal roadshows, investors said the timing was "no coincidence" for the former.

The Central Bank of Nigeria is undertaking a non-deal roadshow in London to meet rates, FX and credit investors.

In this round-up, RMB deposits shrink further in Singapore and Hong Kong, the Stock Connect scheme southbound channel continues to dominate trading, China prepares for direct trading of RMB and Korean won, and Italian enterprises are found to be warming up to the RMB. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB’s coverage this week.

Brent and WTI oil futures have risen to above $50 for the first time since November and July respectively, amid bullish short term positioning by aggressive managers and supportive supply data this week. But while traders called this a ‘psychological’ level for the commodity, physical markets are still sounding a note of caution.

Rating: Baa2/—/BBB-

Afreximbank printed a bond of superlatives on Tuesday, achieving its biggest ever book and largest trade. But bankers on and off the deal debated whether the African supranational priced the note flat to or inside its curve.

Afreximbank printed a bond of superlatives on Tuesday, achieving its biggest ever book and largest trade. But bankers on and off the deal debated whether the African supranational priced the note flat to or inside its curve.

Afreximbank was offering 25bp-30bp new issue premium at guidance stage for its new five year dollar benchmark note on Tuesday.

Although the deal has taken longer than planned, the $150m loan for Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) will be increased following strong demand from Chinese banks, according to a banker on the deal.

In this round-up, trade settlement picked up in March, Asian exchanges saw declining USDCNY futures volumes, Nigeria will include the RMB in its FX reserves, a survey found the RMB is likely to replace the Hong Kong dollar as most popular currency in HK, and a new cross-border scheme was established between Singapore and China. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB's top stories this week.

The CNY NDIRS curve is steeper after a stronger CNY fix backed light offers in the short end while improved price data triggered paying around the five year tenor. Meanwhile, Nigeria is considering issuing a Panda bond, writes Deirdre Yeung of Total Derivatives.

MTN Côte d’Ivoire is raising a $225m-equivalent loan in West African francs while parent company MTN Group, the South Africa-based mobile telecommunications firm, continues negotiations with the Nigerian government over a $5.1bn fine.