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Lusa - Business News - CPLP: No excessive premium on debt yields of sub-Saharan countries - IMF
Washington, April 19, 2024 (Lusa) - The International Monetary Fund economist responsible for the institution's latest report on sub-Saharan Africa said on Friday that there is no excessive increase in the cost of financing for countries in the region compared to countries elsewhere with the same perceived risk. Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Mozambique, Cabo Verde and Sao Tome and Principe - all members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) - are among the the region's countries. "When countries issue foreign currency debt - Eurobonds - we have to see if the interest rate is higher or not, and what we see is that the cost of financing, compared to countries in other regions with a similar credit rating, is that Africans pay 0.7 basis points more, and the difference can increase when there are global shocks, [when] the figure widens to 1.2 basis points, so the cost is higher, but it's limited," argued Thiebault Lemaire, in an interview with Lusa on the day the IMF released its Regional Economic Outlook report on sub-Saharan Africa, coordinated by the economist. The economist dismissed criticisms from some governments in Africa about the existence of an "Africa premium", that is, an exaggerated increase in interest rates simply because the borrowers are in Africa. "When we look at the debt issues made by African public and private companies, the difference disappears," he said, while acknowledging that in the secondary market, that is, where debt is exchanged between private investors after the countries have issued it, there is a difference compared to countries in other regions with the same rating from financial rating agencies. In sub-Saharan Africa, the interest rates charged by investors "are higher than in other countries with the same rating, but the macroeconomic situation remains the same," said Lemaire. "When we take into account the risk of conflict, the history of default, structural issues such as governance, transparency and the management of public finances, where African countries have a lower rating, then the 'Africa premium' disappears." This extra cost is due, according to the IMF economist, "to those elements that are not macroeconomic, but governance and institutions," he concluded in his reply to Lusa on whether governments and institutions in Africa have some basis to say that investors penalise countries in Africa too much when they go to the markets, simply because they are African. In the last two years, sub-Saharan African countries faced yields of over 10% if they wanted to issue public debt on international financial markets - reflecting the risk attributed by investors to the operation - which in practice excluded them from accessing these markets due to the cost. Côte d'Ivoire was the first country to risk a return to the markets in January, after almost two years in which no country in sub-Saharan Africa dared to issue debt, despite the region's great financial needs. The government in Abidjan ended up issuing $2.6 billion (€2.4 billion) in debt at an average yield of 8.5%, having received offers worth $8 billion (€7.3 billion). Following this issue, Benin took its chance on the markets, committing to paying a yield of 8.3% for an issue of $750 million (€693 million), for which it received offers of $5 billion (€4.6 billion). In his interview with Lusa, Lemaire also rejected the idea that the IMF is penalising the poorest countries by charging surcharges on loans, noting that countries that access funds through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) do not pay this surcharge on top of the normal interest rate. "This surcharge serves to discourage the extensive and prolonged use of the fund's resources, but this policy does not apply to PRGT funds," he argued, adding: "This policy serves to strengthen the Fund's balance sheet, so that more money is available for the countries that need it." The last review of these surcharges was carried out in 2016, and the IMF executive board is due to evaluate them again in the second half of the year, but any change needs 70% of the votes on the board, said Lemaire. MBA/ARO // ARO. Lusa Agency : LUSA Date : 2024-04-20 10:34:00
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