The African Banker Awards are traditionally held during the AfDB’s annual meetings, usually in May. Both have now been pushed back to the end of August due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the award presentations will be held virtually on the 26th. The list of nominees reflects the breadth and depth of the work of financial institutions on the continent and the strength of the sector during this crisis.
The entries for this year’s African Banker Awards have been the most diverse to date – see the full list at the end of this article. The Deals of the Year categories always give a good insight in terms of what is happening on the debt and equity front – offering a good gauge of the size and complexity of deals taking place as well as showing how they are received by the international community.
The last year has seen some interesting developments. The Africa Finance Corporation went to the capital markets twice in 2019 with Bank of America, raising $650m and $500m respectively. The infrastructure specialists also managed to raise a further $140m ‘Kimchi bond’, the first-ever Korea-focused syndication for an African borrower.
In February, the Bank of Industry, a longstanding supporter of the African Banker Awards, raised a €1bn syndicated loan facility. This is the second time in three years that it has decided to access financial markets. This transaction will come in handy during this time of crisis as the bank provides medium to long tenured loans at relatively low interest rates to the ‘real’ economy.
The government of Ghana was also active in capital markets during the first quarter of this year. The timing was somewhat fortuitous coming just before the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic. As a result it managed to raise, at attractive prices, $3bn through a triple-tranche offering, $1.25bn at 6.375% due in February 2027, $1bn at 7.875 due in February 2035 and $750m at 8.75% due in March 2061.
We added new categories to the Awards this year to mirror the African Development Bank’s High Fives. For the Infrastructure category representing the AfDB’s ‘Integrating Africa’ goal, there was a great diversity of entries. Transport and logistics were well represented through the Nouakchott Port modernisation project. The first phase of the project will cost $310m.
The 30-year PPP concession is being developed with Arise, an infrastructure and logistics solution company that started in Gabon, and Meridiam, an infrastructure […]
