Bond Awards

Outstanding corporate funding chief at BP for 25 years, whom other treasurers turned to for advice

Leading emerging market bond syndicate banker devoted to his craft

In the spring of 2025, Mr. Lanciné Diaby, Director General of Côte d'Ivoire's Debt Management Office (Direction Générale des Financements, or DGF), stood before GlobalCapital's audience to accept two of the industry's most prestigious distinctions: “Most Impressive Issuer in Africa” and “Most Impressive Funding Official in Africa”. His message at the time was simple: these awards were not an endpoint, but a milestone on a much longer journey. The Republic would continue to innovate and diversify its funding sources. Fast forward to a year later, Côte d'Ivoire has done just that with the execution, among others, of a Samurai bond and a sustainability-linked loan (SLL) with a novel double World Bank Group guarantee.

A commitment to coverage, network and data, and an aversion to complacency has seen MarketAxess claim the award for Best Secondary Market Trading Platform for Emerging Markets Bonds for the third successive time at this year’s GlobalCapital Bond Awards. We spoke to Dan Burke, the firm’s Global Head of Emerging Markets, about market dynamics, product innovation and the future of secondary bond trading in emerging markets (EM).

Once on the margins of global finance, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire is now seen as a model for effective debt management. The nation’s methodical, prudent and innovative approach — combined with a strong commitment to long-term debt sustainability — earned it a rare double recognition in GlobalCapital’s latest bond awards. In addition to taking home the Most Impressive Issuer in Africa award, Lanciné Diaby, Director General of Côte d’Ivoire’s Direction Générale des Financements (DGF), was recognised as the continent’s Most Impressive Funding Official.

The vote to choose the leading firms and individuals in the international debt capital markets has begun

The winning deals, organisations and individuals will be crowned at a ceremony in New York on April 22

The awards recognise the leading deals, individuals and institutions in Latin America's cross-border debt capital markets

A culture of collaboration, cutting-edge technology and unrivalled geographic reach contributed to MarketAxess’ win as ‘Best Secondary Market Trading Platform for Emerging Market Bonds’ at GlobalCapital’s annual awards. We sat down with Dan Burke, the firm’s new Global Head of Emerging Markets, to discuss how the MarketAxess platform has evolved and what the future holds.

Market participants are invited to vote on the most impressive firms and people in the international debt capital markets

Winners will be announced on April 16 at a live event in New York

The past year has been one of tightening in the capital markets, with central banks throwing easy money supply into reverse. GlobalCapital has chosen these corporate deals as outstanding, for proving either that staggering sizes and difficult maturities were still possible, or that ingenuity and flexibility could make even the toughest market conditions work for an issuer