Business Reporter

 

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has priced its largest ever bond issuance, raising US$1,5 billion in a dual-tranche senior unsecured Eurobond offering, marking the institution’s return to the US dollar public bond market after a five-year hiatus.

The transaction, which closed on July 28, comprises US$750 million with a 5.5-year tenor maturing in January 2032 and US$750 million with a 10-year tenor maturing in July 2036. The issuance represents the bank’s first US dollar public bond since July 2021 and surpasses all previous Afreximbank bond offerings in scale.

International investor demand significantly exceeded expectations, with the order book peaking at US$3,8 billion – approximately twice oversubscribed. Demand was evenly distributed across both tranches, with participation from investors in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Asia and the United States.

The robust response enabled Afreximbank to tighten pricing by 37.5 basis points on each tranche, achieving final yields of 6,25 percent for the shorter-dated notes and 7,125 percent for the 10-year paper.

Chandi Mwenebungu, Afreximbank’s Managing Director of Treasury and Markets and Group Treasurer, described the successful pricing as evidence of sustained international confidence in both the institution and the broader African economic narrative.

“This successful issuance shows the confidence that investors continue to place in Afreximbank and in Africa’s growth story,” Mr Mwenebungu said. “For us, this is a clear sign that the market continues to believe in Afreximbank’s work and in Africa’s economic prospects. Our role remains to connect capital to the opportunities that will drive trade, industrialisation and growth across the continent.”

The transaction follows a period during which Afreximbank diversified its funding sources through alternative formats and currencies, including Samurai bond issuances in 2024 and 2025, alongside a Panda bond issuance in 2025.

HSBC Bank plc acted as Global Co-ordinator for the offering, with Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, Standard Chartered Bank, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft and MUFG Securities EMEA plc serving as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners.

The issuance underscores Afreximbank’s continued capacity to access international capital markets on competitive terms while channelling global capital towards Africa’s long-term development objectives, the bank said in a statement.