Africa Bonds

Anglo American priced its first dollar bond for two years on Tuesday – only the third Yankee bond this year from a UK-headquartered issuer.

Zambia had to pay up for its second ever Eurobond this week, offering a nice concession to secure a $1bn 10 year bond. But a wave of demand sent the bond up two cash points in the secondary market despite the sovereign's financial difficulties, which bodes well for African borrowers with stronger credit metrics.

Nigeria's Zenith Bank opened books on a debut dollar bond on Thursday morning, with a yield that was at the upper end of investors requests, said a banker on the deal.

Atlas Mara, co-founded by Bob Diamond, has poached John Vitalo from Barclays to fill the vacancy for a CEO.

Zambia’s new 10 year dollar bond was trading up in the secondary market on Tuesday after attracting $4.3bn in orders for its $1bn print. Debt bankers on the bond were surprised by the strong reception given Zambia’s financial difficulties, which bodes well for African borrowers with stronger credit metrics.

Zambia opened books on the first African sovereign deal of 2014 on Monday morning, starting with a large new issue concession to compensate for a weak credit story. A successful bond could help usher in a run of issuance from Zambia’s peers, with several African sovereigns in the process of planning deals.

OCP, the Moroccan company that claims to be the world's largest phosphate exporter, will start a roadshow on Tuesday for a benchmark dollar bond. It would be the first corporate Eurobond from Morocco.

Nigeria's Zenith Bank started a roadshow on Thursday with Citi and Goldman Sachs for a 144A/Reg S senior unsecured dollar bond. It is likely to have a size of over $350m and a maturity of five years.

Tullow Oil, the UK company that explores for oil in Africa, is planning to price a $500m high yield bond on Thursday.

Nigeria's Zenith Bank will start a roadshow on Thursday with Citi and Goldman Sachs for a 144A/Reg S senior unsecured dollar bond. It is likely to have a size of over $350m and a maturity of around five years.

After finishing last year at the top of the CEEMEA bond bookrunner league tables, Deutsche Bank has slipped to eighth position in Dealogic’s ranking for the first quarter of this year.

Tunisia’s debut sovereign sukuk placement is being delayed until the end of this year or the beginning of 2015, according to an official at the ministry of finance. Tunisia originally planned to issue in the first half of 2014.