Kenya, December 15 2025 – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has successfully closed its second Samurai bond transaction, raising JPY 81.8 billion (approximately USD 527 million) through both Regular and Retail Samurai bond offerings.
The milestone surpasses the Bank’s 2024 debut issuance and reflects growing Japanese investor confidence in Afreximbank’s creditworthiness and its expanding footprint in the yen capital markets.
The Regular Samurai bond comprised a JPY 45.8 billion, three-year tranche, priced on 18 November following extensive investor engagement activities across Japan.
These included Non-Deal Roadshows in Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Shiga, and Osaka, a Global Investor Call, and a soft-sounding process that gauged appetite across maturities ranging from 2.5 to 10 years.
With expectations of a Bank of Japan interest rate increase, investor demand gravitated toward shorter tenors, resulting in a concentrated focus on the three-year tranche.
The tranche drew broad participation from asset managers (22.3%), life insurers (15.3%), and high-net-worth investors (39.7%) alongside regional corporates.
Concurrently, the Bank priced its second Retail Samurai bond, a JPY 36.0 billion, three-year tranche, more than doubling the inaugural Retail Samurai issuance of JPY 14.1 billion in 2024.
The 2025 Retail Samurai bond also represents the first Retail Samurai issuance in Japan this year.
Following an amendment to its shelf registration on 7 November, Afreximbank worked with SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., acting as Sole Lead Manager and Bookrunner, to conduct a seven-business-day nationwide demand survey, followed by a six-day bond offering period.
The offering was further supported by Afreximbank’s visibility at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), where it hosted the Africa Finance Seminar, highlighting its mandate, credit profile, and investment opportunities in Africa to Japanese institutional investors.
AloJapan.com