Ivory Coast raises $315 million in regional bonds, hires banks for $500 mln in Eurobond

Ivory Coast raised 150 billion CFA francs ($315.83 million) in the regional market and hired banks for a $500 million Eurobond issue, Morocco's BMCE Bank, one of the banks hired to manage the deals, said on Monday.
   Ivory Coast said earlier it would issue around $1 billion in sovereign debt on the international market this year in a combination of dollar Eurobonds and local CFA franc-currency bonds.
   BMCE Bank said its African subsidiary, Bank Of Africa, is one of the lenders hired by the government to issue $500 million Eurobond in 2014.
   The 150 billion CFA francs seven-year bond with a 6.5 percent coupon was fully subscribed within 48 hours by investors from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and others, the statement said.
   Ivory Coast's 2032 Eurobond has emerged as one of non-oil producing Africa's best-performing credits after the country secured $4 billion in debt relief in June 2012 under the IMF-World Bank scheme.
   With Ivory Coast's crisis now over, the government of President Alassane Ouattara has resumed coupon payments on its defaulted $2.5 billion Eurobond, which matures in 2032, and has launched a major overhaul of long-neglected infrastructure.