IFC to launch $43 million Central African bond

DAKAR (Reuters) - The International Finance Corporation, (IFC) the World Bank's private sector lender, will this month launch a $43 million Central African bond, it said on Tuesday.

The five-year bond will be denominated in the Central African franc, the currency used in the six-member Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) zone, which comprises Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

The bond, which will be listed on the regional exchange in Gabonese capital Libreville and the Doula Stock Exchange in Cameroon, will be issued by the middle of this month, the IFC said in a statement.

"Through this bond, IFC will help develop local capital markets and support long-term local currency financing for local companies," IFC Vice President Finance and Treasurer Nina Shapiro said in the statement.

"IFC expects to follow this bond issue with other financing directly with clients and in partnership with local financial institutions."

Growth in the CEMAC zone, which includes some of Africa's most longstanding oil producers, could reach 4 percent in 2010, up from an expected 2.4 percent this year, the regional central bank said on Friday .