When Nigeria issued its benchmark $500m Eurobond in January this year, it joined an elite club. The west African country became only the fifth in sub-Sahara, excluding South Africa, to issue sovereign bonds. The deal, which the country's finance minister said was two times oversubscribed, capped a successful 18 months of sovereign issuance across the continent: 2010 alone saw the launch of 10 Eurobonds. The deals signal Africa's growing importance on the international bond stage as yield-hungry investors look to markets they have previously shunned.
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