Africa Bonds

The Arab Republic of Egypt has mandated banks to arrange its debut green bond, which will be the first sovereign green bond from the Middle East and North Africa. The deal, according to bankers, has been in the works for over a year and has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Kingdom of Morocco raised a €1bn bond on Thursday, which was priced wider than some analysts' fair value estimates. Market conditions, bankers said, are deteriorating ahead of expected volatility in coming months.

Zambia’s request to defer payment on $3bn of its Eurobonds is the first potential default by an African government during the coronavirus crisis. The process has been poorly managed, say sources close to the matter, throwing into doubt Zambia's chances of winning leniency, the vital first step to avoiding a messy hard default. Mariam Meskin reports.

Africa Finance Corp, the pan-African development finance institution, printed its first green bond on Monday.

Zambia has requested to defer payments on $3bn of its dollar Eurobonds, in what could be the first default by an African sovereign during the coronavirus crisis. Bondholders said they were resigning themselves to accepting the deferral request.

The Kingdom of Morocco, an infrequent emerging market issuer that some investors have been watching for, launched a euro bond on Thursday, its second in two years.

Africa Finance Corp, the pan-African development finance institution, printed its first green bond on Monday – the first in Swiss francs from a CEEMEA supranational.

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the pan-African development finance institution, has held investor calls ahead of its first green bond issue that Swiss franc bankers expect to launch next week.

The Africa Finance Corporation, the pan-African development finance institution (DFI), has mandated a pair of banks to lead its first ever green bond issue, which it will sell publicly into the Swiss franc market.

There is growing concern among African policymakers that indebted low income countries face growing risks of downgrades and even default because of a lack of coordinated support from public and private institutions.

The coronavirus pandemic has ramped up African sovereigns’ need to spend, resulting in a wave of credit rating downgrades. But market participants are split over the perception of credit risk in the region and how that will affect future issuance.

The Arab Republic of Egypt — a frequent bond issuer — has signed its first syndicated loan. Egypt’s debut in the market, bankers said, is an attempt to diversify its funding to support an expanding state budget, just months after its debut green bond was delayed due to Covid-19. Mariam Meskin reports.