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Pretoria. – Sales of African corporate and sovereign bonds in 2014 are set to beat last year’s record amount of $16,6 billion, according to Standard Bank Group Ltd, the continent’s biggest lender.
“There’s still a huge amount of interest and appetite,” Megan McDonald, the lender’s head of debt primary markets, told reporters in Johannesburg yesterday.
“Issuance will no longer be dominated by sovereigns” as increased debt sales are expected from companies and state-owned corporations, she said.

African issuers are tapping debt markets as borrowing costs from Nigeria to Rwanda drop to record lows. This year, yields on the continent’s debt retreated 89 basis points, or 0,89 percentage point, according to a JPMorgan Chase & Co index.

Sub-Saharan corporates have issued $4,13 billion of debt this year, compared with $6,95 billion for all of 2013, while sovereigns have sold $6,39 billion in 2014 from $9,7 billion last year, according to Standard Bank.

Nigerian lenders including Access Bank Plc and FCMB Group Plc have discussed Eurobond plans. – Bloomberg.