The Ecobank Group today has launched the first-ever benchmark index to measure the performance of sub-Saharan African ("SSA") domestic bond markets (excluding South Africa).
Paul-Harry Aithnard, Group Head of Research at Ecobank, announced the launch of the Ecobank Middle Africa Bond Index ("MABI" or "the Index") whilst addressing an audience of corporate executives and financiers attending EMEA Finance's African Capital Markets Conference in London yesterday.
The Ecobank MABI fills a notable gap given that, previously, there was no such index dedicated to sovereign local currency denominated debt in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Ecobank MABI, developed in partnership with Nedbank Capital, will also enable both institutions to further build on their extensive local market expertise in issuing, managing and trading fixed income securities and local currencies across SSA.
The Index has been developed as a volume weighted benchmark to replicate the underlying performance of selected SSA domestic sovereign bond markets. The weighting formula reflects the influences of changes in GDP indicators, liquidity levels and the regulatory environment and, based on public information sources, provides an objective and largely independent view. The Ecobank MABI currently consists of sovereign bonds from Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Togo, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, with a further 8 countries being considered for future inclusion.
Paul-Harry Aithnard further observed:
"Investor appetite for domestic African bonds is increasing as a result both of the Continent's strong and sustained economic growth prospects and the global search for yield. The Ecobank MABI provides a unique performance benchmark for investors looking to diversify their African fixed income portfolio or to broaden their overall exposure to frontier markets. By providing a highly visible way of measuring returns, the Ecobank MABI is likely to attract more investors to Middle Africa's bond markets and, ultimately, improve market liquidity."
About Ecobank Group
Incorporated in Lomé, Togo, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) is the parent company of the Ecobank Group, which is present in more countries in Africa than any other bank in the world. Ecobank currently operates in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Group also has an affiliate in Paris and representative offices in Dubai, Johannesburg, London and Luanda. ETI is listed on the stock exchanges in Lagos, Accra and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) – the BRVM. The Group has over 24,200 employees from 35 different countries in over 1,100 branches. Ecobank is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transactional banking services to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, local companies, SMEs and individuals. For more information, please visit: http://www.ecobank.com.
