African countries are currently chasing international investors with many economies in the region, disclosing plans to raise dollar bonds.
Rwanda will sell its first international bond by the end of July, as it seeks to improve infrastructure strained by a decade of economic growth faster than 8 percent, President Paul Kagame said.
The nation will debut and sell about 350 million Euros ($458m) in debt before the end of the budget year in the international bond market, as African countries – from Angola to Nigeria – plan record debt issuance.
Nigeria is seeking to borrow $1 billion on overseas markets, twice as much as it sold in 2011, while Angola wants to raise $2 billion selling securities, as Tanzania is selling $600 million of seven-year debt.
African countries have cleaned up their sovereign balance sheets after the debt crises of the last decade, which means most countries in the region are credit worthy.
The search for yields by foreign investors is also a guarantee of a ready market for such emerging market debt issuance by SSA countries.
PATRICK ATUANYA
