Afreximbank has finalized its second issuance of Samurai bonds, raising 81.8 billion yen (approximately $527 million) through two tranches, Regular and Retail, an operation larger than the one carried out in 2024 and confirming the gradual anchoring of the pan-African bank in the Japanese bond market. The Regular tranche, of 45.8 billion yen over three years, was structured following a series of meetings with investors on the sidelines of TICAD9, including roadshows in several Japanese cities and a pre-maturity survey process; in a context where markets anticipated an increase in the Bank of Japan’s rates, demand focused on short maturities.
The participation reflects a diversified base, including asset managers (22.3%), life insurers (15.3%), regional companies, and retail investors (39.7%). Meanwhile, the Retail tranche, of 36 billion yen over three years, more than doubled the 2024 Retail issuance and represents the first Retail Samurai bond issued in Japan in 2025, after a seven-day demand survey conducted by SMBC Nikko followed by a six-day subscription. These operations follow the update of Afreximbank’s shelf registration on November 7, 2025, with SMBC Nikko as the Lead Manager and exclusive Bookrunner.
The institution benefits from a range of investment grade ratings: Baa1 from Moody’s, BBB- from Fitch, A from GCR, A- from the Japanese agency JCR, and AAA from the Chinese agency CCXI, a divergence that illustrates contrasting evaluation methodologies between Western, Japanese, and Chinese agencies. Asian ratings, significantly higher, give more weight to the bank’s multilateral status and the strength of its balance sheet, while Western ratings remain more cautious by integrating African macroeconomic risk; this difference translates concretely into a more competitive cost of financing in Asia, a broader and more stable Japanese investor base, and enhanced access to a Samurai market traditionally demanding but attentive to local ratings.
With assets exceeding $40 billion by the end of 2024 and an active strategy of diversifying its sources of financing, Afreximbank continues to expand its presence in international bond markets while leveraging these perception divergences to optimize its capital access conditions.
