Africa Bonds

Ireti Samuel-Ogbu will replace Akin Dawodu as Citigroup's country officer for Nigeria.

Prosus made a barnstorming debut outing in the European bond market after Monday’s dollar trade, with the ecommerce and investment company that straddles investment grade and emerging market investor interest seeing €13.5bn of demand for a €1bn deal.

Emerging market bond issuance has staged a rapid and forceful comeback after the pummeling it took in March, but issuance from Sub-Saharan Africa has been noticeably absent. Bankers are now debating whether the fourth quarter will see supply from the region.

Credit analysts hope that European banks will be able to report much stronger capital levels in the second quarter, amid early signs that risk-weighted asset (RWA) volumes could be lower than expected.

Tunisia, one of the latest emerging market countries to fall into the grips of crisis, is facing myriad problems following its prime minister’s shock resignation this week. Though the government has approached sovereign creditors for debt relief, some say it may have more trouble obtaining payment holidays on its existing bonds, as the private sector debt relief debate for emerging markets brews.

Redefine Properties, the South African landlord, has completed a tender offer for all of its outstanding €117.2m bonds that are exchangeable into shares in RDI Reit, the London-listed real estate investment trust.

Pressure is mounting on private sector investors to join official institutions in granting debt relief to emerging market borrowers. An important point will be whether private investors agree to waive cross-default clauses for sovereign borrowers.

Redefine Properties, the South African real estate company focused on commercial properties, has completed a buy-back of its outstanding €117.2m 1.5% exchangeable bonds due 2021, as part of a wider restructuring of the firm.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sold the first Algerian dinar-linked bond from a development finance institution last week. With local market liquidity drying up because of the collapse in the price of oil, further demand for dinar assets could depend on how well the nation’s economy diversifies away from the industry.

International bondholders have formed a specialist committee to conduct negotiations with Zambia after the country announced a liability management exercise to control its debt.

The Africa Finance Corp, the Nigeria-headquartered multilateral development bank, has issued its first Eurobond of 2020, winning three times oversubscription.

Egypt’s debut green bond, which had been expected to come to market in the first half of the year, is on hold, according to sources. But although the coronavirus pandemic has impacted issuance for issuers such as Egypt, the green bond market is far from dead.