Afreximbank Helps MCB Secure $300M in their First Global Bond Issuance as Joint Lead Manager

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), through its Advisory and Capital Markets (ACMA) division, acted as Joint Lead Manager for the first US$300 million RegS-only international senior unsecured notes issued by Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) under its US$3 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme.

After a global virtual investor roadshow, the Notes offering was announced on April 19, 2023. There was a lot of interest from regional and international investors, and the offering was oversubscribed by high-quality asset managers and financial institutions from Africa (36%), the UK/Europe (35%), MENA/Asia (24%), and the US offshore (5%), in that order.

MCB will use the money from the bonds to pay for general business expenses and find new ways to get money, like expanding into Africa. The Notes have been rated Baa3 (stable) by Moody’s and have been approved for listing on the International Securities Market of the London Stock Exchange. They have a fixed coupon of 7.950% and will be due in April 2028.

Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Afreximbank, said this about the deal:

“We are proud to have facilitated capital markets access for MCB in this landmark transaction marking the first Investment Grade-rated commercial bank senior bond out of Africa at present and the first international bond by any Mauritian non-sovereign issuer. Afreximbank’s support to MCB to mobilise additional funds for financing projects in Africa is a further affirmation to our commitment to supporting the African continent under all market conditions.”

For this issue of Notes, Afreximbank worked with international Joint Bookrunners as a Joint Lead Manager.African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution that helps finance and promote trade within and outside of Africa. For the past 30 years, the Bank has used innovative structures to provide financing solutions that help change the structure of Africa’s trade, which speeds up industrialization and intra-regional trade and helps the African economy grow.

Afreximbank has been a strong supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). It has created the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the platform for payments and settlements that will help the AfCFTA work. With the help of the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to help countries join the AfCFTA effectively. At the end of 2022, Afreximbank had over US$31 billion in assets and guarantees, and its shareholders had US$5.2 billion in funds.Between 2016 and 2022, the Bank gave out more than $86 billion.

GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-), and Fitch (BBB) have all given Afreximbank an investment grade rating. Afreximbank has grown into a group that includes the Bank, its subsidiary impact fund called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its subsidiary for insurance management called AfrexInsure. Together, these three parts are called “the Group.”