Côte d’Ivoire sold bonds worth $2.6bn in two tranches earlier this year, attracting voracious demand as it reopened a market closed to sub-Saharan African sovereigns for 21 months. Société Générale was joint bookrunner and joint deal manager on the transaction, which included a debut sustainability tranche.
The bank has long-standing links with its client. “Société Générale has been in Africa for a very long time. It’s part of our DNA,” says Yury Kiselev, the bank’s head of CEEMEA debt capital markets. “And Côte d’Ivoire is one of our core relationship countries.”