Fidelity Bank Plc has issued a $300m five-year Eurobond paying a 6.875 per cent coupon and priced at a discount to give a seven per cent yield.

Reuters quoted a senior official of Fidelity Bank, who declined to be named, as saying that the bond sale was completed on Thursday.

Citibank and Deutsche Bank were joint lead managers on the deal, a prospectus obtained by Reuters shows.

The Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Reginald Ihejiahi, said last month that the planned bond was part of a funding drive for projects with dollar financing needs, including  oil, power and infrastructure.

Foreign investor appetite for emerging market debt is soaring, as the hunt for yield amid rock-bottom interest rates in Western countries pushes bond buyers further a field.

Emerging market strategist at Standard Bank, Mr. Samir Gadio, said the issue price had been 99.48 per cent and that the bond gave a spread over US Treasuries of 635 basis points.

He added that fair value would have been between 6.5 per cent and 6.75 per cent yield, but said he expected the bond to perform well nonetheless, since the deal was not widely-marketed and the global environment remained one of low global rates and ample liquidity.

Source: The Punch.