(LUSAKATIMES, REUTERS) Zambia has raised $750 million in a debut 10-year Eurobond

Zambia has raised $750 million in a debut 10-year Eurobond
TIME PUBLISHED - Thursday, September 13, 2012, 5:51 pm

Finance Deputy Minister Miles Sampa (fourth from left), Finance Permanent Secretary Felix Nkulukusa Bank of Zambia Deputy Governor Dr Bwalya Ng’andu and other officials from Zambia, Barclays Bank and Deutsche Bank celebrate after the launch of Zambia’s US$750million-worth bond on Wall Street in New York on Thursday 13 September, 2012. Picture by Chibaula D. Silwamba GRZ

Reuters reports that Zambia has raised $750 million, on the debut 10-year Eurobond with a yield of 5.625 percent on today, a market source said, adding that more than $11 billion of orders were received for the issue.

The popularity of the issue by Africa’s biggest copper producer reflects strong investor appetite for scarce frontier African paper.

The yield was 25 basis points tighter than Zambia’s initial 5.875 percent guidance.

The size of the Zambian bond also means it will be eligible for the JP Morgan EMBI Global index, increasing its appeal to major investors.

The southern African country, which is rated B+ by Fitch and Standard and Poor’s, plans to use proceeds from the issue to upgrade its infrastructure, particularly in the transport and energy sectors.

Fitch cited the country’s buoyant copper mining sector, political stability and GDP growth of over 6 percent as strengths, but said prospects for growth beyond 2012 were less certain due to dependence on copper, which accounts for about 80 percent of exports

[Reuters]