Rwanda's $21.7m Treasury bond oversubscribed

 Rwanda's 21.7 million U.S. dollars Treasury bond has been oversubscribed by 232 percent, attracting bids worth 50.4 million U.S. dollars.
The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) received 91 bids for the bond issued on Wednesday from different categories of investors far above the 56 received in the February issuance.
Retail investors, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and individuals, increased to 39 up from 29 in the previous issuance.
Over 6.1 percent of the total bids were from foreign investors from Canada, France, Belgium, Mauritius, Kenya and Tanzania, according to government officials.
Addressing journalists in Kigali on Thursday, BNR governor John Rwangombwa said the bond's final price was 12 percent with a coupon rate of 11.875 percent.
The initial guidance price was announced at upper 11 before it was later revised to 11.875 percent, according to the governor.
Finance minister Claver Gatete said the response indicates investors' confidence in the macro-economic framework and Rwanda's economic direction.
"To have this bond subscribed by 232 percent with wide participation is a clear indication of how investors perceive our economy," he said. "Our aim is to ensure that we keep this trend by continuing our prudent macroeconomic policies."
The minister attributed the overwhelming response to the far- reaching public awareness campaigns that were conducted through countrywide road shows.
The bond is the third in a series of local treasury bonds issued by the Rwandan government expected to fund infrastructure projects in the 2014/15 budget.
The government is planning regular issuances of government bonds, Gatete said, with the next issuance expected in November this year.
Government would also go back to the international bond market next year after identifying how much is needed for the country's large infrastructure projects like Bugesera International airport. Rwanda raised 400 million dollars from the Eurobond it issued in 2013 whose proceeds were spent on expanding RwandAir's fleet, completion of the Kigali convention center and the Nyabarongo hydro power project.
Rwanda's Fitch Rating was recently upgraded from B to B+ which could have influenced the response, according to economic experts.
After announcing the bond subscription, what follows is the allotment process which could be complete on Friday, officials explained, and have the bond listed on the stock exchange Tuesday next week. The bond will go to the secondary market on September 2.