Nigeria raised over $2.5 billion bond in quarter three of 2018 followed by South Africa with $9.3 billion, Côte d’Ivoire ($8.3 billion) and Angola ($3.5 billion).
In total, Sub-Saharan Africa bond issuers raised a record $30.8 billion during Q3, 2018
This segment of the financial markets involving the sub-region was particularly animated by governments that are primary issuers notably because of liquidity needs to finance budget deficits in a context marked by ever decreasing revenues.
Financial institutions ($5.7 billion) and the energy sector ($2.3 billion) also greatly contributed to that dynamic.
Let’s remind that the presence of Côte d’Ivoire in that list is partly due to its strong economic activity and also to interventions of the African Development Bank (AfDB) which was considered as an Ivorian issuer in the ranking because of the presence of its headquarters there.
With the tightening of borrowing conditions (for Africans) notably on the international bond market, Sub-Saharan issuers’ presence on this market should decrease. Indeed, figures from Q3, 2018 shows that from $13.1 billion in July, the zone’s issuance dropped to $7.2 billion in September.
Idriss Linge
