On Wednesday, October 19, 2016, the African Development Bank, rated Aaa (Moody's) / AAA (S&P) / AAA (Fitch), launched and priced a new US $1-billion 2-year Global benchmark transaction due 2 November 2018.
The new 2-year issue is AfDB's fifth USD Global benchmark transaction in 2016 and is also its first 2-year US dollar benchmark transaction this year.
BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs International, Nomura and TD Securities were mandated as joint-lead managers on the transaction.
The African Development Bank decided to take advantage of the supportive market conditions for issuance and a clear execution window this week, following the heavy primary supply in Supranational, Sovereigns and Agencies (SSA) in the 3-year segment witnessed in the previous two weeks.
The mandate for a new 2-year USD Global benchmark was announced on Tuesday, October 18, 2016, shortly after 2:30 p.m. London time and Initial Price Thoughts (IPTs) of Mid-swaps (MS) +4 basis points (bps) area were released simultaneously for gathering Indications of Interest overnight.
The deal met with immediate investor interest and with Indications of Interest in excess of US $600 million, the books were officially opened in the European morning on Wednesday at 8:05 a.m. London time with a price guidance of MS +4bps area, in line with the IPTs.
On the back of extremely high quality orders and with final demand in excess of US $1.3 billion, the issuer decided to set the deal size at US $1 billion.
The deal was priced at 5 p.m. London time with a re-offer yield of 1.073%, equivalent to a spread of 27.4 bps against the 2-year US Treasury bond CT2 0.750% of September 2018.
Distribution Statistics
Final distribution figures highlight AfDB's strong penetration across key regions. The high quality order book saw 36 accounts participating, dominated by demand from Central Banks and Official Institutions, who took up the lion's share of allocation of 73%.
About the AfDB
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is the premier development finance institution in Africa with a mandate to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in the continent, thereby contributing to poverty reduction. The Bank Group achieves this objective by mobilizing and allocating resources for investment in the continent; and providing policy advice and technical assistance to support development efforts. The African Development Bank's authorized capital of around US $100 billion is subscribed to by 80 member countries made up of 54 African countries and 26 non-African countries.
The African Development Bank's Strategy for 2013-2022 (Ten-Year Strategy) reflects the aspirations of the entire African continent and is firmly rooted in a deep understanding and experience of how far Africa has come in the last decade, and where it wishes to go in the next. In 2015, a new strategic operational agenda was laid out for the Bank, outlined in the "High 5s", aimed at providing a sharp focus on the Bank Group's work as it implements the Ten-Year Strategy. The High 5s are: Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. These operational priorities are consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals and therefore essential in transforming the lives of the people of Africa through rapid, sustained, and inclusive growth.
