PTA Bank, a multilateral financial institution based in Nairobi, successfully launched a US$300 million Eurobond in November. According to a press release from Standard Bank, this was the only corporate Eurobond from sub-Saharan Africa in 2010, the only one since 2007 and the first Eurobond from an east African issuer, either sovereign or corporate.
Standard Bank Group and HSBC were joint-bookrunners on this debut Eurobond. According to the press release: “The new 5-year Reg S bond was priced to yield 7.125%. This transaction is the inaugural issue under PTA Bank’s new US$ 1 billion EMTN programme and the proceeds will be used to support new trade and project finance lending in Eastern and Southern Africa.. PTA Bank is rated Ba1 by Moodys and BB- by Fitch.” EMTN is defined as a euro medium-term note and is flexible instrument issued continuously rather than in one tranche.
Florian Hartig, Standard Bank Group’s Global Head of Debt Capital Markets, said in the press release: “This is a landmark transaction for Sub Saharan Africa which will have important benefits throughout the region for future sovereign and corporate issuers. The transaction also demonstrates the strength of Standard Bank’s Eurobond distribution platform for Emerging Market issuers together with our expertise in African domestic markets.
“PTA Bank has proven to be a leader among Sub Saharan African bond issuers. Future issuers will benefit substantially from rapidly growing international investor interest in Eurobond issuance from the region.”
The PTA Bank is formally known as the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank and covers the Preferential Trade Area. It is owned by 19 shareholders, including 17 member states from eastern and southern Africa. The shareholders are: African Development Bank (institutional shareholder), Burundi, China (non-regional shareholder), Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.