According to a report from Reuters, Benin Republic is seeking to raise $750 million in its first ever dollar denominated bond issuance.
It is noted that the Benin Finance Minister, Romuald Wadagni will be leading a group of Beninoise policymakers in physical and virtual meetings with investors, which include a road show in London and New York.
Before now, the Benin Republic only issued international bonds in the Euro currency as its currency, West African CFA is pegged to the Euro.
What you should know
The move by Benin Republic may mark the second issuance of dollar-denominated bonds in Africa this year, after Ivory Coast raised about $2.6 billion in Eurobonds issuance in January 2024.
Ivory Coast raised $1.1 billion through the issuance of sustainable bonds which have a maturing date of 2033 and an additional $1.5 billion for conventional debt with a maturity date set for 2037. The move by Ivory Coast marks the first Eurobonds issuance by an African country since 2022, as well as the first USD-denominated bond sale by the country since 2017.
In 2021, the Benin Republic issued two bonds which it used to raise 1 billion Euros cumulatively. It raised 700 million Euros with an 11-year-maturity bond and 300 million Euros with a 31-year-maturity bond. At the time, the issued bonds reached a subscription reached a subscription of 3 billion Euros.
According to the Impact Report 2023 released by the Beninoise Finance Ministry, the bonds issued were focused on the drive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Some of the measured impacts of the bonds include 1,807,807 vaccines administered under the country’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation, 1.05 million schoolchildren benefitting from the school canteen programme, 9,676 teachers recruited in 2022, and 30 agricultural entrepreneurs benefitting from access to credit.
