North Africa

The deadline for responses to Egypt’s RFP passed at noon in Cairo on Thursday with a decision on the mandate expected as soon as early next week, said one DCM banker.

African Export-Import Bank has appointed a new director for syndications, after hiring another senior loan syndication banker earlier this summer.

Public sector dollar flow picked up on Wednesday after a quiet start to the week, as World Bank brought a four year benchmark and Tunisia sold a bond backed by the US government.

Egypt published a request for proposals for a new dollar bond on Wednesday as it works towards an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

The International Monetary Fund approved on Friday a two-year precautionary liquidity line (PLL) to Morocco to support the country as it pursues a reform agenda.

Shares in Marsa Maroc, the Moroccan port terminal operator and cargo handler, have risen 20% this week after they began trading on the Casablanca exchange on Tuesday following the company's Dh1.9bn ($194m) IPO.

The former head of loan syndication at African Development Bank has left for a role at a developmental financial institution in Cairo.

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.

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.

Egypt’s Banque Misr is finalising its second syndicated loan in over a decade, a murabaha deal for $200m.

Egypt’s Banque du Caire has cancelled plans to raise a loan for as much as $250m, but may consider signing a loan in 2016 instead.

The Egyptian loan market is showing signs of recovery with deals from Banque Misr and National Bank of Egypt in recent months. Bankers say there is more to come in 2016.