The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) will on Wednesday issue a three-year Rwf15 billion bond, the fourth TB to be issued under government’s quarterly issuance programme. Emmanuel Rugamba, the operations supervisor at CDH Capital, a brokerage firm, said they are already receiving a lot of inquiries from individual investors and institutions. “There is high appetite for government paper if the huge interest from investors is anything to go by...I think the bond could be fully subscribed,” Rugamba told The New Times last week. Rugamba noted that many investors buy government bonds in the primary market to hold, making it difficult for buyers in the secondary market to access the TB “as no one is usually willing to sell”. BNR published the prospectus of the bond early this month. The proceeds from the bond issue will be used to finance infrastructure projects and capital markets development, as did the three other TBs issued by the government last year. According to the prospectus, after the Wednesday issue, settlement will be done after two days. Interest payments will be done twice a year. The TB will be listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) secondary market in multiples of Rwf100,000 on March 3. Sanjeev Anand, the managing director of I&M Bank Rwanda, said they were planning to invest between Rwf300 million and Rwf400 million in the upcoming debt instrument. Last year, the government issued a Rwf12.5 billion three-year bond in February, in August it issued a Rwf15 billion five-year bond and a seven year Rwf15 billion issued in November. ben.gasore@newtimes.co.rw
