Risks from spate of USD bond issuances look manageable

We think that the risks from the recent glut of foreign currency bond issuances by African governments are, for the most part, manageable. Granted, both Ghana and Zambia have turned to the IMF recently for support. But in general, we do not expect foreign currency bond yields to soar and although debt levels are rising, they are still far lower than they were in the run-up to the debt cancellation programmes in the mid-2000s.