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Africa issues $10 bln in bonds in 2024

The African Development Bank, holding the highest "AAA" investment rating, emerged as the frontrunner in bond issuance this year, accounting for seven out of the 17 bond releases by African issuers since January

PRETORIA, April 8. /TASS/. African governments, banks, and companies have collectively placed bonds exceeding $10 bln on the global financial market this year, which accounts for 63% of their total volume for 2023 and almost half for 2022, Ecofin agency reported.

According to the report, many experts interpret this surge in bond issuance as sign of a renewed interest from global investors in Africa. However, this uptick in demand for African bonds takes place amidst persisting concerns over high sovereign debt levels and the risk of default across the continent, issues that rating agencies continually caution about.

The African Development Bank, holding the highest "AAA" investment rating, emerged as the frontrunner in bond issuance this year, accounting for seven out of the 17 bond releases by African issuers since January. In total, African banks and enterprises issued bonds worth $5.2 bln.

As for government bonds, Benin, C·te d'Ivoire, and Kenya issued them this year, raising the total of $4.85 bln. In total, bonds worth $1.27 trillion have been placed by various issuers around the world this year.

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