Africa

Ghana took investors by surprise on Thursday morning with the release of pricing for a new global dollar bond.

African Export-Import Bank has sent a request for proposals for a loan of $750m, according to a banker who received the invitation.

Steinhoff completed syndication of $4bn of acquisition loans this week with the deal going “better than expected", according to bankers. The loan market has not shown signs of fatigue for the South African-based furniture retailer, even though the borrower has already asked a lot of the market this year.

Domestic opposition could derail Egypt’s IMF deal and threaten plans for a dollar market return, analysts have warned.

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is signing banks into its $250m Asia focused loan this week and has sent out requests for proposals for a much larger deal.

Banks are signing documents for the $4bn of acquisition loans for South African-based Steinhoff on Wednesday. The deal has gone “better than expected,” according to one lead banker.

The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA) has chosen seven banks to lead its latest loan refinancing which launched into syndication this week.

South Africa was thrown into financial uncertainty this week as its finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, became embroiled in a corruption probe by the country’s elite police unit, the Hawks. Volatility hit local currency bonds, which remain some 50bp wider, but the country’s sovereign curve is already recovering and in equities and loans it is business as usual. But some say this underplays the risk of investing in South African assets.

The sun continued to shine on South African equity capital markets this week, despite growing political volatility.

The $1bn loan for telecoms firm MTN needed an accordion feature to get it to target size, even though the loan market has so far shrugged off the volatility surrounding allegations against the country’s finance minister.

South African president Jacob Zuma has spoken out in support of the country's troubled finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, but this did little to reassure the market as volatility in local currency bonds and the rand extended into Thursday.

The loan for South Africa’s MTN, which is partly underwritten by BAML and Citi, may have to include an accordion feature to hit its $1bn target size, said a banker on the deal.