ADVERTISEMENT

Ivory Coast’s Reopened Eurobonds Get Orders Triple Offer

Ivory Coast’s Reopened Eurobonds Get Orders Triple Offer

Investors placed orders for more than triple the amount of Eurobonds offered by Ivory Coast in a reopened sale Monday, evidence of the unrelenting appetite for higher returns on riskier frontier-market assets.

The west African nation, the world’s largest cocoa producer, issued 600 million euros ($725 million) more of its existing euro-denominated 4.875% coupon bonds due 2032, and 250 million euros more of the 6.625% coupon securities maturing 2048, a person familiar with the transaction said. The country received 2.8 billion euros of demand from investors, the person said.

Optimism about global recovery on the back of a flurry of fiscal stimulus coupled with the global rollout of Covid-19 vaccines is driving yields lower in developed markets. That’s prompting investors to look for returns among the world’s lower-rated sovereigns. Egypt raised $3.75 billion Monday, selling securities due in five, 10 and 40 years.

Ivory Coast, rated six levels below investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service and one level lower by Fitch Ratings, appointed BNP Paribas SA, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Standard Chartered Plc to manage the sale.

Yields on the 2032 notes rose by 7.5 basis points to 4.43% as of 4:44 p.m. in London on Tuesday. The 2048 securities advanced 5.1 basis points to 5.87%.

Reopening 2048 notes “allows the country to take advantage of investors’ appetite for long-term maturities,” the Ivorian Ministry of Finance said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

Benin became the first African country to tap debt markets for euros this year, issuing 700 million euros of 11-year bonds and 300 million euros of 31-year securities last month.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.