WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 10—On January 8, 1997, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) increased its South African Rand (ZAR) 100 million bond issue launched on December 17, 1996 by an amount of ZAR 50 million (approximately US$10.6 million equivalent). This increase was made possible by strong demand for the initial issue and full placement two weeks prior to the settlement date. The 2-year bonds carry an annual coupon of 15.50 percent and the additional bonds were issued at a price of 101.45 percent of par. The proceeds of the increase will be swapped into U.S. dollar floating-rate funds.
The lead manager of the issue is Hambros Bank Limited, London. All 15 financial institutions that comprised the original syndicate group participated in the increase.
This transaction brings IFC’s market borrowing to about US$2,264 million for the fiscal year 1997 which, for funding purposes, began on June 18, 1996.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral source of financing for private sector companies in developing countries. Its long-term debt is rated AAA/Aaa by both Standard & Poor’s Corp. and Moody’s Investors Service.