November 16, 2009—IFC has become the first non-local financial institution to issue a Central African franc-denominated bond. Proceeds from the bond will support lending to small and medium enterprises in six countries in central Africa and help strengthen capital markets in the region.
The 20 billion Central African francs ($43 million equivalent), five-year tenor bond will be listed on the regional exchange in Libreville and on the Doula Stock Exchange. It will be tax-exempt in all six countries in the Economic and Monetary Community of the Central African zone. The countries are Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. All proceeds will be reinvested in the zone.
The bond should be issued by mid-November 2009. This is IFC’s second local currency bond in Sub-Saharan Africa, after the Kola Bond in West Africa in December 2006.
For more information contact:
Kimberlee A. Brown, IFC
Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 859 7126
E-mail: kbrown@ifc.org
