Benin Issues Debut Eurobond as Demand for African Debt Soars

BENIN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Benin raised 500 million euros ($567 million) in a debut Eurobond sale on Tuesday, the same day that West African neighbor Ghana touted a $3 billion deal.

Benin’s amortizing notes, with a final maturity of 2026 and average life of six years, yield 6 percent, lower than the initial price talk of around 6.375 percent. Investors placed more than 1 billion euros for the offering, according to a person familiar with the matter. Citigroup Inc., Natixis SA and Societe Generale SA arranged the sale.

Ghana, rated one step below Benin at B by S&P Global Ratings, saw demand of more than $20 billion for its deal, according to its finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

African Eurobonds are in high demand as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s dovish turn spurs a global pursuit for riskier assets. Sovereign dollar bonds on the continent have returned 9.8 percent since the end of 2018, which compares with 6.3 percent for all emerging markets, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s indexes.

Source: Bloomberg Business News