IFC

The International Finance Corporation could be set to blaze a trail for other issuers when its new Banking on Women Bond launches next month, MTN bankers said on Thursday.

The International Finance Corporation sold a tap of 10 year Australian dollar debt on Wednesday, playing on strong demand for long-dated Kangaroo deals from Japanese life insurers. Most deals in the maturity have come from European issuers but investors are keen to grab opportunities to diversify their holdings.

The International Finance Corporation hopes to renew its commitment to socially responsible investors before the end of the year by selling a new Green Bond in benchmark size. The issuer is also looking at the possibility of selling euro denominated debt, potentially through a debut Schuldschein deal.

This week's funding scorecard contains updates on some of the major supranational borrowers' funding programmes. Next Friday the scorecard will feature selected European supranationals and agencies.

The International Finance Corporation announced plans on Wednesday for a $1bn offshore Indian rupee-linked bond programme to help fund its lending in India and attract greater foreign investment to the country. The issuer is hoping to set up a similar programme for issuing rupee-denominated debt on the domestic market in the future.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) sold the first bond by an international issuer on Zambia’s domestic bond market on Thursday. The supra hopes that the deal — dubbed a Zambezi bond — will encourage more borrowers to access the local market.

The International Finance Corporation is set to add another SRI bond programme to its funding stable by selling first ever bond backing women in business later this year.

This week's funding scorecard focuses on some of the major supranational borrowers, some of which have just announced new funding programmes. Next Friday's scorecard will give take a look at the funding progress of several major European supranationals and agencies.

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten has hired four banks to run a three year 144A syndication in dollars this week. The issuer is the first SSA name out of the gates although are looking to price deals ahead of US non-farm payrolls data on Friday.

The European Investment Bank was set to price a three year dollar global deal on Wednesday afternoon, following in the footsteps of the International Finance Corporation which sold its largest ever deal in the currency the day before. More supply could follow the EIB — another supranational name is rumoured to be looking at a mandate for a deal as early as tomorrow.

The International Finance Corporation was set to price the first five year benchmark in dollars since the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development came a month ago as SSA Markets went to press. A barnstorming investor response has enabled the issuer to set the size for its largest deal ever.

The Nordic Investment Bank and the International Finance Corporation rounded out a busy week for non-core dollars on Friday, with NIB selling a long 10 year Kangaroo deal and IFC tapping five year Kauri debt. And next week could be even busier, syndicate bankers told SSA Markets.