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Zambian bonds: a safer bet than Spain’s?
Spain may not be Uganda, as its premier Mariano Rajoy undiplomatically exclaimed in a text to his finance minister earlier this year. According to bond investors, it is Zambia. The Republic of Zambia...
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Nigeria: the (inde)x-factor slashes yields
Joining the club can bring a whole new bunch of friends. In the case of Nigeria, which last month was admitted by JP Morgan to its emerging market Government Bond Index with effect from October, it...
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Africa: set for a sovereign debt rush?
With emerging market debt markets booming, is now time for African nations to join in? If Zambia’s recent bond is anything to go by, the answer would be a firm ‘yes’ – as many analysts are fond of...
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Namibia: first “Springbok” bond?
It might be a small issue, but it’s a first: Namibia has issued a $96m bond denominated in South African rand, the first such bond issued by another sovereign. The question is – what to call...
View Article[video] African debt on the up
African sovereign debt has quadrupled in the last decade, but compared to other regions still has a long way to go. As Eleanor Whitehead of This is Africa explains to Rob Minto of beyondbrics, investor...
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Sub-Saharan sovereign debt: a bright 2013 in store
Rating agency Fitch is ending the year with predictions that sub-Saharan Africa will be “a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy world in 2013″. With growth expectations of above 5 per cent, the region is...
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Angola plans to join eurobond rush
2012 was a great year for frontier-market hard-currency bonds, and Angola hopes to get in on the action in 2013. The oil producer announced on Friday plans to raise $1bn from a debut eurobond issue...
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Chart of the week: sub-Saharan eurobonds – creeping doubts?
In October last year, beyondbrics wrote of a sub-Saharan debt rush – partly based on Zambia’s successful issue, and on investors’ hunt for yield and diversification. But now there is now talk of...
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Guest post: hunt for alpha leads to Africa
By Dambisa Moyo In my book Dead Aid I suggested that African governments could and should access the international capital markets to finance their development objectives such as infrastructure,...
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Ghana eyes $1bn Eurobond
Alongside the riches, Ghana’s oil boom has also ushered in a string of woes, including huge infrastructure needs and the stubborn problem of rampant public expenditure. So, at a time when investors are...
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Chart of the week: Africa’s growth / human development lag
From the ‘hopeless’ to the ‘hopeful’ continent, a decade of strong growth has changed perceptions of sub-Saharan African economies – not least among international investors, who have rushed to recent...
View Article[snap]: Ghana raises $750m, but pays a premium
It’s a sign of the times. Ghana on Thursday raised $750m from the sale of 10-year eurobonds, but the deal did not come easy. With investors more cautious about lending to frontier countries with shaky...
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IFC Zambia bonds: looking local
Sometimes you get lucky – the International Finance Corporation certainly did when it picked Thursday to launch its first local currency bond in Zambia. As the US Federal Reserve confounded analysts by...
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Ivory Coast: back on the bond route
Less than three years since civil war erupted in Ivory Coast it’s back to business as usual. Growth rates are now among the highest in Africa and the west African nation is set to return to...
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Guest post: Africa’s sovereigns should stick to debt plan
Florian von Hartig of Standard Bank With nearly two months of the issuance calendar remaining until year end, African sovereign issuers have raised nearly double the amount of funding ($6.35bn) in the...
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Zambia: downgraded, but not down
What do you do when you get downgraded by a major credit rating agency, citing deteriorating government finances and macroeconomic policies that “could deter investment”? Issue more debt! Or at least...
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African credit ratings: don’t get carried away, says S&P
African growth is soaring away, as anyone who has looked at the IMF figures can tell you. Meanwhile, governments are able to tap the international debt markets, as investors are still willing to snap...
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Gabon’s $1.5bn eurobond: telling the right story
Gabon joined the year’s rostrum of sovereign African eurobond issuers on Thursday with a 10 year “soft bullet” issue of $1.5bn priced to yield 6.375 per cent. It follows comparable landmark issues over...
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East African bond issuers: not having it so easy
Tapping bond markets is something of a trend for many African countries in the past year, including Gabon this month with a $1.5bn 10-year eurobond priced to yield 6.375 per cent. But selling long-term...
View ArticleEM taper tantrums delaying Kenya eurobond issue?
Kenyan officials are on a round of investment meetings in London to discuss the country’s debut eurobond, pegged at $2bn, says the central bank. But market volatility is proving a nuisance and Kenya...
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