Benin prepares for Africa’s first Eurobond of 2025
Benin is planning to issue Africa’s first Eurobond of 2025 as it seeks new external funding.
The government has chosen three major banks—Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, and Societe Generale—to help arrange meetings with investors. These meetings will start on January 8 and will be held online and in London.
The bond will have a 16-year maturity and a 15-year weighted average life. It is expected to be of a "benchmark size," meaning it will meet the standard for large international investments.
Benin’s move comes at a time of strong investor interest in bonds from emerging markets, especially African nations.
“The government wants to take advantage of good market conditions,” Ousseynou Diagne, head of Africa debt capital markets at Societe Generale told Bloomberg.
This bond will be issued just under a year after Benin’s last dollar bond sale.
As part of this plan, Benin is also offering to buy back some of its euro-denominated bonds due in 2032, using a loan from a commercial bank.
This Eurobond will help Benin diversify its funding and strengthen its economy during uncertain times.
