The bond issue lead-managed by BICI Bourse in December 2006 for the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) was named “2006 Deal of the Year Africa” by Emerging Markets magazine.
BICI Bourse is a management and brokerage firm. It is a subsidiary of the BICI banks in Cte d’Ivoire (50%), Senegal (10%), Mali (5%) and of BICIA in Burkina (10%). It operates on the WAEMU (West African Economic Union) regional stock market.
BICI Bourse acted as lead manager for the IFC borrowing, initially for 22 billion CFA francs (over 33.5 million euros). The final placement totaled CFA27.66 billion (42.2 million euros). All countries in the West African Economic and Monetary Union participated in the issue.
In addition to raising funds, IFC established its credit status in the region, laying foundations for future introduction of structured finance products (with partial guarantees, risk sharing, extended maturities, etc.) in partnership with local financial institutions.
With this deal BICI Bourse became the first brokerage house to introduce a high-quality signature with a triple-A rating from international agencies in this financial market. IFC’s decision to tap this market diversifies its offering of financing products and confirms that the market has achieved the standards required by international investors and issuers.