AfDB

The African Development Bank mandated leads for its inaugural Green Bond on Wednesday afternoon, with a three year note expected to be priced on Thursday.

Export Development Canada (EDC) added to a busy week for dollar issuance on Thursday, successfully selling a five year deal. The leads were able to tighten the price from initial price thoughts while also securing an oversubscribed order-book.

Export Development Canada is the latest issuer to mandate for a five year dollar deal this week, offering initial price thoughts on Wednesday afternoon. The African Development Bank is also in the market with a five year deal, expected to be priced later in the afternoon. Syndicate bankers away from the deal suggested that the book building was progressing slowly, blaming a glut of recent supply.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is set to continue a busy week of dollar issuance on Wednesday, when it plans to sell five year bonds. Dollar investors have been looking for attractive concessions despite the Federal Reserve’s decision not to slow its asset purchasing programme last week, though bankers on the AfDB deal used the success of a five year bond from Finland to push pricing in 1bp from their original target.

This week's funding scorecard focuses on some of the major supranational borrowers, some of which have just announced new funding programmes. Next Friday's scorecard will give take a look at the funding progress of several major European supranationals and agencies.

KfW and the African Development Bank both sold long 10 year Kangaroo debt on Wednesday, with the former opening a new line and the latter tapping its outstanding bond. KfW was able to reach a wider investor base than recent 10 year Kangas owing to its strong reputation in the market. Export Development Canada also took the opportunity to increase its five year Aussie dollar bond.

A quiet week for Kangaroo issuance is on the cards, with a Reserve Bank of Australia meeting on Tuesday leaving screens blank on Monday. Issuers are mulling opportunities at the long end, according to syndicate bankers, but reduced deal sizes at the close of last week suggest investors may be close to sated.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is looking to round out its funding plans for the year with a new dollar benchmark — likely a five year note — and its debut Green bond, also in dollars, likely to be sold at the short end of the curve. The issuer is also keeping an eye out for opportunities in other currencies, particularly the Kangaroo market.

This week's funding scorecard focuses on some of the major supranational borrowers, some of which have just announced new funding programmes. Next Friday's scorecard will give take a look at the funding progress of a number of European supranationals and agencies.

The European Investment Bank was able to tap into Swedish demand for sustainable investment last week by selling a new krona denominated Climate Awareness Bond. Demand for Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) bonds is growing in Sweden and could provide an opportunity for SSAs willing to meet the pricing demands of the local investors.

Socially responsible investment (SRI) bonds are making a splash. The IFC, IFFIm, and the EIB have brought deals this year and the African Development Bank has plans to sell its inaugural international trade this year. Principally an SSA product, bankers in the market are split as to whether this is a genuine good thing or a whole heap of greenwash. A market this immature will have anomalies, but that should not stop its development.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that it plans to issue a Green Bond in the autumn. Meanwhile the EIB was putting the final touches on a €650m Climate Awareness Bond as SSA Markets went to press.