Afreximbank closes historic US$1.3 billion bond

African Export-import Bank (Afreximbank) on May 10, 2021, successfully closed a $1.3 billion dual tenor bond issuance, the Bank’s largest-ever transaction in the international debt capital markets.

Afreximbank printed a $600 million 5-year note at a spread of T+185bps and a US$700 million 10-year note at a spread of T+220bps, after achieving a final order book of $4.5 billion.

The Initial Pricing Thoughts (IPTS) were announced at T+220bps area and T+250bps area for the 5-year and 10-year tranches, respectively. Backed by strong demand, the combined books peaked at $5 billion, with a slight skew towards the 5-year tranche, seeing pricing set at T+185 bps to a re-offer yield of 2.634 percent and T+220bps to a re-offer yield of 3.798 percent, respectively. The 10-year tranche was finally priced at only a 5bps New Issue Premium (NIP), while the 5-year was priced flat to fair value.

Afreximbank Advisory and Capital Markets (ACMA) acted as Sole Financial Advisors on the transaction, while Afreximbank partners in arranging the transaction were HSBC Bank Plc as Sole Coordinator and Joint Lead Manager/ Book Runner as well as MUFG, Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, Commerzbank, and Standard Chartered Bank as Joint Lead Managers and Book Runners.

The transaction is a major milestone for Afreximbank, marking the second time that the bank has accessed the 144A US market and is the bank’s largest transaction in the debt capital markets to date. It fulfills a number of key objectives of the bank’s liability management strategy, which include diversification of the liability book by geography, investor type, and tenor as well as reducing the cost of funds.

Speaking after the closing, Denys Denya, Afreximbank’s executive vice president responsible for treasury, said: “This landmark deal confirms continuing investor deep confidence in Afreximbank’s mission and credit story, and achieving competitive pricing for both tranches is a testament to the strength of support from investors from all key financial markets across the globe. Importantly, the success of this transaction enables the bank to continue to play a major role in the development of intra-African trade as well as trade between Africa and the rest of the world.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.