Africa
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A consortium of international lenders is funding the development of Egypt’s largest solar plant. -
Airtel Africa, the UK telecommunication company providing services across Africa, has raised $500m from a range of international lenders. It becomes one of the latest Africa-based issuers to inject activity into the syndicated loan market.
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Amid a broader downturn in emerging market syndicated loans, several African issuers — including sovereigns — are seeking debt facilities from international lenders.
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An uneven economic recovery is expected across emerging and developed markets over the next year, the IMF said this week during its spring meetings. Meanwhile, a proposed boost to special drawing rights has split market opinion.
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The announcement this week that the IMF is on its way to issuing a further $650bn of special drawing rights, providing central banks with extra foreign currency liquidity, should not be criticised for being too little, too late. It marks a much needed return to multilateralism, something that the developing world will benefit from.
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Volatility in the US Treasury market has been the thorn in emerging market bond issuers' sides this quarter. Though bankers had expected borrowers front-load issuance, concerns about global interest rates and investor appetite have dulled volumes.
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The Republic of Ghana entered the bond market on Monday to sell a multi-tranche dollar bond, which some market participants have called “ambitious”. Some believe the issuer is putting size before price as it tries to locate funding for its 2021 budget.
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Zambia and the IMF will resume negotiations on an extended credit facility package, having missed the first deadline.
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Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production company Seplat Petroleum entered the international bond markets on Thursday seeking to raise dollar funding. As primary issuance re-starts in the CEEMEA region, Seplat is one of a few high yielding names testing the temperature.
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South African lender Investec has secured a syndicated loan facility, with a consortium of 29 international banks. Bank borrowers are continuing to lean on their relationship lenders in South Africa, though the environment in the country remains challenging.
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The Republic of Ghana, one of the few African sovereigns to have tapped capital markets last year, this week mandated banks to arrange a dollar bond. The multi-tranche bond, market participants say, will demonstrate investors’ appetite for high yield credit.
