WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 26—On February 24, 1997, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) increased its South African Rand (ZAR) 500 million zero-coupon bond issue launched on February 13, 1997, by a principal amount of ZAR 200 million (approximately US$45 million equivalent). The original 10-year zero-coupon bonds were issued at a price of 28.00 percent of par and the additional bonds at 28.30 percent of par. The transaction represents the first ZAR issue to be launched in the Euromarkets on a zero-coupon basis and with a ten-year maturity. The proceeds of both transactions will be swapped into U.S. dollar floating-rate funds.
The lead manager of the issue is Hambros Bank Limited, London. All 14 financial institutions that comprised the original syndicate group also participated in the increase.
This transaction brings IFC’s market borrowing to about US$3.1 billion 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. –––––
