Africa

Egypt’s triple tranche $4bn bond drew a huge book of over $19.5bn on Tuesday in a deal that bankers away from the mandate said was a huge success, underscoring the phenomenal market conditions available to issuers.

Middle East issuers are expected in the bond market in droves, with Egypt and Mashreqbank leading the charge this week.

The Arab Republic of Egypt has released initial price guidance for its triple tranche bond at levels that have caught investors’ attention. A large deal is expected.

A number of top tier South African banks are expected to hit the loan market in the coming months, and bankers are welcoming what are some of the most attractive credits on the continent. But the country faces a number of dilemmas, which threaten to thump its credit ratings, writes Mariam Meskin.

The Kenyan sovereign is in talks with banks to refinance a $1bn term loan set to expire in March.

Chinese state banks take a lot of criticism for the amount of lending they do in Africa. But what the detractors fail to acknowledge is the lack of competition from Western banks, especially from US houses. As borrowing needs across Africa grow, the question must be asked: if the Chinese banks don't lend to Africa, which ones in the West will?

GlobalCapital revealed the winners of its 2018 Loan Awards at its annual Syndicated Loans and Leveraged Finance Awards Dinner at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London on February 6. The complete results are below. GlobalCapital congratulates all the winners and nominees.

Renaissiance Capital has hired a new vice president of financial services research at its branch in Cairo.

The hopes of emerging markets participants proved well founded on Wednesday when US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell pulled back from the aggressive trajectory of rate hikes previously promised.

The Middle East and North Africa region will provide a large chunk of emerging market bond supply in 2019, investors said this week. The region provides excellent value, in spite of fluctuations in the oil price.

DWF, the UK law firm, has filed paperwork on an initial public offering in London, but many in equity capital markets are predicting that the the city’s largest deals will come from the emerging markets.

Georges Elhedery will be moving from Dubai to London in order to take up a new role as head of global markets at HSBC. He replaces Thibaut de Roux, who reportedly left in September after an accusation of inappropriate conduct.