Ivory Coast issues debut Samurai bond in diversification push

Ivory Coast has raised 50 billion Japanese yen ($337 million) in an ESG-certified sovereign Samurai bond, it said late on Thursday, the first such issuance by a Sub-Saharan African nation.

Samurai bonds are debt denominated in the Japanese currency.

The West African nation has been diversifying its funding sources, including issuing its first regional currency denominated international bond in March, partly to avoid volatility in the dollar-denominated global capital markets.

"After successively establishing a track record on the dollar and euro capital markets, and opening up the CFA franc Eurobond market, Ivory Coast has now entered the yen bond market, the third largest capital market in the world," said the ministry of finance in a statement.

The 10-year issue, which was guaranteed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), came with a 2.3% coupon, the ministry said, and will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The attainment of an ESG label by the issue, which shows the bond has met Environmental, Social and Governance standards, helped to boost investor appetite, the ministry said.

"This makes Ivory Coast the only sub-Saharan African sovereign currently outstanding in the Samurai market," consultancy Oxford Economics said in a note.

South Africa has previously issued Samurai bonds.

Emerging market debt sales are on track for another record year, with a number of governments pivoting away from the dollar to other currencies - chiefly the euro, but also the yuan and Swiss franc in a bid to access new markets and cut costs via lower interest rates.

($1 = 148.5300 yen)