Africa Finance Corporation issues CHF200 million 4-year benchmark bond
28 November 2019
Africa Finance Corporation (“AFC” or “the Corporation”), the leading investment-grade infrastructure solutions provider, announces the successful issuance of its CHF200 million Reg S Only bond (the “bond” or “CHF bond”) maturing in December 2023.
The bond was priced at par, has a tenor of four years, and carries an annual coupon of 0.5225%, which is the lowest coupon ever for an African issuer in the CHF market. Moreover, the transaction was priced inside the Corporation’s existing USD Eurobond curve and below its currently outstanding CHF bond, which matures 27 December 2019.
The new issue was preceded by an extensive non-deal roadshow in Switzerland and other parts of continental Europe. AFC received strong investor interest from several high-quality institutions, including private banks and asset managers, resulting in an oversubscription of three times.
This transaction will allow AFC to further diversify its debt portfolio and secure financing to de-risk transformational infrastructure projects across the African continent.
The issuance is AFC’s second CHF bond and was rated A3 by Moody’s Investor Services, in line with AFC’s overall issuer rating. It will be listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange.
Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC, commented: “The response to our second Swiss Franc bond issue has been overwhelmingly positive with orderbooks three-times oversubscribed. The strong appetite for AFC bonds is further testimony of investor confidence in AFC’s credit story, holistic investor engagement strategy and support for our mandate to develop and fund infrastructure projects that will unlock the continent’s potential. Furthermore, the unprecedented coupon exemplifies the current reality of negative yields in Europe. Investors must look beyond to find safe yet attractive investment opportunities.”
Banji Fehintola, Senior Director & Treasurer of AFC, added: “We are very pleased with the results of our second Swiss bond issue. With an annual coupon of 0.5225%, which is substantially lower than our inaugural CHF bond with an annual coupon of 0.85%, it is a landmark for AFC, Africa and supranational institutions. This new bond will provide us with liquidity to refinance our maturing CHF bond and fund the Corporation’s balance sheet growth. We look forward to deepening our relationship with Swiss investors and frequenting more often this very important market.”
Credit Suisse and Renaissance Capital acted as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners.
About AFC – www.africafc.org
AFC, an investment grade multilateral finance institution, was established in 2007 with an equity capital base of US$1 billion, to be the catalyst for private sector-led infrastructure investment across Africa. With a current balance sheet of approximately US$5.07 billion, AFC is the second highest investment grade rated multilateral financial institution in Africa with an A3/P2 (Stable outlook) rating from Moody’s Investors Service. AFC successfully raised US$1,150 million (US$650 million and US$500 million) in 2019, US$500 million in 2017 and US$750 million in 2015 through Eurobond issuances; out of its Board-approved US$3 Billion Global Medium-Term Note (MTN) Programme. All Eurobond issues were oversubscribed and attracted investors from Asia, Europe and the USA.
AFC’s investment approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth. AFC invests in high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. To date, the Corporation has invested over US$6.6 billion in projects within 30 countries across Africa.