Africa Loans

Etisalat has been given until Friday to transfer all its shares in Etisalat Nigeria to a syndicate of 13 Nigerian banks, after talks on restructuring a $1.2bn loan from 2013 fell through.

Etisalat Nigeria is in the “advanced stage” of its negotiations with 13 local banks over the restructuring of a $1.2bn loan taken out in 2013, according to the company.

Investec Bank launched a $300m two year term loan this week to refinance a three year facility signed in February 2015. The deal comes after Moody's downgraded South Africa's five biggest banks on Monday, following the sovereign downgrade last Friday.

Afreximbank has closed its largest ever syndicated loan at $1.2bn with 35 banks, its second facility of the year, after a Samurai in April.

Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) has mandated six banks to arrange financing for its annual cocoa season, according to a public statement.

The Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), the government institution that supervises Ghana’s cocoa industry, is set to begin the roadshow for its annual syndicated loan in June, according to a banker on the deal.

Chinese loan banks are appearing in more and more emerging market loan deals this year, as they race towards the loan market big league, but while their hunger for market share is evident, they're still taking a conservative approach.

African agriculture conglomerate Export Trading Group (ETG) has approached the loan market for a borrowing of up to $100m.

South Africa’s Nedbank signed a $450m syndicated loan in an oversubscribed deal on Tuesday, adding to the rising trend of emerging markets borrowers turning to Asian banks for capital.

Kenya’s $500m loan from development financial institutions (DFIs) will be syndicated six months from its signing date, to avoid clashing with the country's commercial loan of $1bn from international banks, according to one of the bankers on the deal.

Afreximbank’s second syndicated loan this year is expected to grow from the initial asking amount of $700m as banks pile in to join, according to bankers on the deal.

Kenya has signed a $1bn loan, an increase on the initial launch amount, with around 20 banks, said a banker on the deal.