Africa

Two South African rights issues are under way - one from a position of strength and one to deal with weakness - as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange rallies after the shock of Brexit last Friday.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s credit markets are benefiting from Britain’s decision to leave the EU as well as a more dovish stance from the US Federal Reserve, with bonds rallying to new lows, according to EM specialists.

Kenya Power and Lighting Company signed its $500m loan refinancing last week after extending the deal time to bring in more lenders.

PTA Bank, the African development finance institution, has signed a $340m three year loan largely from Chinese lenders.

South African investment firm Brait has signed new four year debt facilities as it seeks further potential acquisitions.

Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) has completed senior syndication of its $1.8bn trade finance loan and will pay a few basis points more than last year’s deal to reflect harsher market conditions.

Johannesburg-listed drug manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare completed arranging €3bn-equivalent of loans on Wednesday. The multicurrency deal was more than twice oversubscribed in the euro tranche.

Eskom, the South African state-owned electricity firm, is arranging a syndicated loan with a guarantee from African Development Bank (AfDB), and the deal could be as large as $1bn, said one banker this week.

USAID has extended a $500m guarantee that will enable Tunisia to access affordable financing from the international capital markets, after plans for standalone access were put on hold in April.

In this round-up, RMB deposits shrink further in Singapore and Hong Kong, the Stock Connect scheme southbound channel continues to dominate trading, China prepares for direct trading of RMB and Korean won, and Italian enterprises are found to be warming up to the RMB. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB’s coverage this week.

Investec, the South African-UK bank and asset manager, raised £138.3m on Thursday with a 5% capital increase, conducted as an accelerated bookbuild by JP Morgan.

Cleopatra Hospital Co has raised E£360m ($40m) with an IPO that its vice-chairman said was a sign of renewed investor confidence in Egypt’s capital markets and healthcare sector.