Benin Republic surprises with oversubscribed $750m debut Eurobond

Benin Republic’s first-ever dollar denominated bond- a $750 million issue- was oversubscribed to the tune of $5 billion on Wednesday as investors lapped up the debt of the small West African nation.

Romuald Wadagni, the West African nation’s Finance Minister, said proceeds from the 14-year bonds which were issued at a rate of 8.375 percent would be used to finance the country’s 2024 budget.

The bond sale by Benin Republic comes two weeks after Ivory Coast raised $2.6 billion at a rate of between 8.5 and 8.75 percent in an oversubscribed Eurobond auction.

“Who would have thought that Benin would be able to issue its debut USD external bond at a yield flat to or even below what an equivalent Ivory Coast USD bond was trading at earlier today?” Simon Quijano-Evans, the Chief Economist of the London-based asset manager, Gemcorp Capital Management, said in a note to clients.

Benin Republic, one of the fastest-growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to grow by 6.4 percent in the 2024-25 period.
The country has displayed an impressive level of macroeconomic stability, as it posted an inflation of 0.40% in December 2023, up from –0.20% recorded in November 2023.