Africa Bonds

Nigerian oil and gas company Seven Energy has joined the burgeoning family of Africa high yield borrowers, picking banks for a benchmark sized debut dollar deal. An African mining corporation is also eyeing the high yield market, and bankers are expecting a steady procession of corporate deals from the continent throughout the rest of this year.

African Export-Import Bank’s $500m five year bond was trading up in the secondary market on Wednesday. The borrower had to contend with a downgrade from Standard & Poor’s in the run up to the deal, but still managed to price a three times subscribed bond with respectable new issue premium.

Senegal’s initial price thoughts for a new 10 year benchmark bond on Wednesday surprised bankers away from the deal, who felt the sovereign had started with an over aggressive level. But the lead managers countered there was no push back from investors, and that Senegal’s secondary curve was by no means the sole reference point for pricing.

African issuers have made sure CEEMEA supply has not suffered in the wake of new US sanctions against Russia. Tunisia, Senegal and Africa Export Import Bank are supporting primary supply, while the continent’s high yield corporate pipeline is growing.

Islamic bankers don’t need new excuses to travel to the world’s sunnier climes, but meetings in Mauritius next to its pristine coral sand beaches could soon become a feature of the market — and not just for obvious reasons.

African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim) saw a stable window for a new benchmark bond on Tuesday morning, and opened books on a five year dollar transaction.

Tunisia launched a $500m seven year bond this week with a full guarantee from USAID, as part of US efforts to help the country through its transition to a new democratically elected government.

Islamic bankers don’t need new excuses to travel to the world’s sunnier climes, but meetings in Mauritius next to its pristine coral sand beaches could soon become a feature of the market – and not just for obvious reasons.

Tunisia has picked JP Morgan and Natixis for a seven year dollar bond.

Nigerian oil and gas company Seven Energy has joined the burgeoning family of Africa high yield borrowers, picking banks for a benchmark sized debut dollar deal. An African mining corporation is also eyeing the high yield market, and bankers are expecting a steady of procession of corporate deals from the continent throughout the rest of this year.

Senegal has closed and priced its debut XOF100bn ($200.5m) four-year sukuk with a 6.25% profit rate, the first medium term Islamic bond offering out of Africa of 2014 and the first Sub-Saharan sovereign sukuk ever apart from Nigeria's State of Osun last year.

Each of the CEEMEA bonds priced on Thursday was trading up in the secondary market on Friday morning. Russian paper shows little signs of recovering from its beating, but the wider market has remained largely immune to the US sanctions imposed on Wednesday.