ICBC International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICBC, has completed the issue of 10-year sovereign USD bonds worth USD 1.5 billion for the Republic of Angola as joint book manager and joint lead manager, becoming the only Asian underwriter for the deal. This was the first issue of sovereign bonds by Angola in the international financial market, as well as one of the biggest bond issuances by a non-investment-grade sovereign state in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In August 2014, the Angolan government decided on the plan to issue dollar bonds in the international market and appointed ICBC International as one of the lead underwriters. Through detailed communication and exchanges with the Angolan government, ICBC International fully reflected the sovereign credit level of Angola on the basis of reasonably disclosing risk factors, and helped the issuer select a favorable time window for the issue after the FED delayed its rate hike. During the issue, ICBC International, by bringing into full play its expertise and unique market advantages, won the recognition and support of Asian investors for this project, and helped the issue be nearly 5-times oversubscribed. The proceeds from the issue will be used to fund the construction of a number of water conservancy, energy and road projects in Angola, which can effectively expand the financing channels of the Angolan government, and provide key capital sources for its economic development in the future.

Angola is the second biggest oil-producing country in Sub-Saharan Africa (only after Nigeria), and the second biggest trading partner and project contracting market of China in Africa. In June this year, ICBC signed a strategic cooperation agreement for comprehensive financial services with the Angolan Ministry of Finance. ICBC has so far provided financing to the country’s major projects including KK new town, SOYO combined cycle power plant, LNG, power transmission, water service, agricultural development and tourism zones, among others and actively supported the development of local operations of Chinese enterprises in Angola.