GLO advises AIIB and AfDB on Egypt’s debut panda bonds issuance

GLO NEWS
Global Law Office has advised the guarantors on the debut issuance of RMB 3.5 billion (approximately US$500 million) 3.51% three-year panda bonds by the Arab Republic of Egypt, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and African Development Bank (AfDB).
Bank of China acted as the lead underwriter and bookrunner and HSBC acted as the joint lead underwriter and joint bookrunner on the issuance, which represents several market firsts – the first African panda bond issuance; the first sustainable development sovereign panda bond issuance; the first guaranteed sovereign panda bond issuance; the first bond issuance jointly guaranteed by two multilateral development institutions in the Chinese bond market; a debut panda bond issuance guaranteed by AfDB; and a debut bond issuance guaranteed by AIIB.
The bonds are aligned with Egypt's Sovereign Sustainable Financing Framework and the issuance will support the country's strategy and efforts towards sustainable development through initiatives including transportation projects, renewable energy, sustainable management of water and sanitation, affordable housing and affordable and digital infrastructure, which are prioritized under the framework.
The issuance also serves as a new gateway for increasing cooperation between Egypt and China, including the expanded use of RMB in Egypt and opening new opportunities for achieving sustainable development goals.
The Global Law Office team which advised on the transaction was co-led by Xin Zhang and Li Zhu.
GLO has a strong capital markets team. Our professionals have extensive experience in capital markets legal services, covering stocks, bonds, securitisation, structured financing, and other standard or non-standard equity and debt financing. We are specialized in discovering and identifying legal issues, providing our clients with satisfactory, compliant, feasible and cost-effective solutions through efficient and accurate services. With a deep understanding of law and practical experience, we are particularly specialized in dealing withcomplicated transactions and have been engaged in many precedent or milestone innovative cases.