South Africa

South African Eurobonds rallied a half to three-quarters of a cash point this week after fraud charges against finance minister Pravin Gordhan were dropped on Monday. Now both the sovereign and FirstRand Bank are hitting the road.

October was the busiest month for CEEMEA borrowers on record, with $37.5bn of new bonds issued. Even if Saudi Arabia’s $17.5bn mega deal was not included, volumes were way above the five year average of $14bn. But as the US elections approach, primary issuance has wound down.

South Africa has announced a series of investor meetings that coincides with a half to three-quarters of a cash point rally of the country’s Eurobonds after fraud charges against finance minister Pravin Gordhan were dropped on Monday.

The IPO of Dis-Chem Pharmacies, the South African retail pharmacy group, was covered at its largest possible size two working days into the bookbuild, as the South African rand rallied on news that finance minister Pravin Gordhan will no longer face fraud charges.

South African assets rallied on Monday after its National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped fraud charges against embattled finance minister Pravin Gordhan, setting a stronger tone for FirstRand Bank to engage with investors next week.

South Africa’s Cell C is expected to print its debut dollar bond on Wednesday, a secured note which will be appeal more to high yield buyers than emerging markets investors, according to an EM buy-side analyst.

This week has seen the completion of the largest UK IPO since Worldpay, despite a cautious mood gripping investors following a string of failed IPOs in Europe. A significant M&A driven rights offer and a bold convertible bond from a prominent shopping centre group have also reached successful conclusions.

Shares in Remgro, the South African investment company led by billionaire Johann Rupert, rose 1.5% on Monday morning after it completed its R9.3bn ($676m) rights offer to finance a possible acquisition of SABMiller’s stake in Distell Group, the maker of Amarula liqueur.

Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust, the Reit managed by the property arm of UK asset manager Schroders, has priced its second capital increase on the London and Johannesburg exchanges.

Dis-Chem Pharmacies, one of the leading South African pharmacy chains, is preparing an IPO on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to raise funds to expand its operations and reduce its debt.

MTN Group, the South African telecoms company, priced $1bn of five and 10 year bonds on Wednesday in line with initial guidance that some investors said was generous.

South African telecoms company MTN finally emerged with a dual-tranche dollar deal on Wednesday morning more than three weeks after finishing investor meetings.