The African Development Bank Collaborates with Bloomberg on the Launch of an African Bond Index
February 19, 2015
New index family to bring transparency to most liquid African bond markets
Abidjan and London — The African Development Bank (AfDB) through the African Financial Markets Initiative (AFMI) has launched its AFMISM Bloomberg® African Bond Index. Calculated by Bloomberg Indexes, this composite index is comprised of the Bloomberg South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya local currency sovereign indices.
“The launch of the indices comes as a welcome development at a time when African countries are increasingly looking to domestic capital markets to source much needed financing for economic development,” says Stefan Nalletamby, the Director of the Financial Sector Development Department of the AfDB.
The current index includes an African sovereign bond index comprised of the four most liquid bonds in Africa and three sub-indexes for different maturity ranges. To be included in the index, a security must have at least one year remaining to maturity and withstand price stability tests. Further liquid markets are expected to be added to the index this year.
“There is a clear need for a transparent and objective benchmark for sovereign debt in Africa. Well-crafted indices are essential in the assessment of value in markets while contributing to liquidity by giving investors a benchmark to evaluate their performance,” says David Tamburelli, Head of Emerging Markets Product, Bloomberg L.P.
The AFMI works to deepen the continent’s local currency bond markets and also strives to create an environment where African countries can access financing at variable terms. By providing transparent and credible benchmark indices, the AFMISM Bloomberg® African Bond Index provides investors with a tool with which to measure and track the performance of Africa’s bond markets.
The composite index is available to Bloomberg Professional service subscribers via {BADB Index}, which includes the Bloomberg South Africa {BSAFR Index }, Bloomberg Egypt {BEGYP Index }, Bloomberg Nigeria {BNGRI Index } and Bloomberg Kenya {BKEN Index } indices.
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Press Contacts:
- Catrin Thomas, Bloomberg L.P. | cthomas106@bloomberg.net | +44 20 7392 0673
- Cedric Mbeng Mezui, AFMI coordinator (AfDB) | c.mbengmezui@afdb.org |+225 202 6 3813
About the African Development Bank:
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is Africa’s premier development finance institution. Founded in 1964, it comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 34 African countries with an external office in Japan, the AfDB contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information, please visit www.afdb.org.
About Bloomberg:
Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company’s strength – delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Professional service, which provides real time financial information to more than 320,000 subscribers globally. Bloomberg’s enterprise solutions build on the company’s core strength, leveraging technology to allow customers to access, integrate, distribute and manage data and information across organizations more efficiently and effectively. Through Bloomberg Government, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Bloomberg BNA, the company provides data, news and analytics to decision makers in industries beyond finance. And Bloomberg News, delivered through the Bloomberg Professional service, television, radio, mobile, the Internet and three magazines, Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg Markets and Bloomberg Pursuits, covers the world with more than 2,400 news and multimedia professionals at more than 150 bureaus in 73 countries. Headquartered in New York, Bloomberg employs more than 15,500 people in 192 locations around the world. For more information visit www.bloomberg.com/company
Bloomberg® is a service mark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates (“Bloomberg”) and has been licensed to the African Development Bank. The AFMISM Bloomberg® African Bond Index (the “Index”) is administered by the African Development Bank and calculated by Bloomberg. Bloomberg does not guarantee the timeliness, accurateness, or completeness of any data or information relating to the Index.