Fangda Partners, Dechert, White & Case, Global Law Office and JunHe advised on the first African country to issue panda bonds, preparing other nations on the continent to enter the Chinese market.
Egypt became the first African country to issue a RMB3.5 billion (USD480 million) three-year sustainable development panda bond with a coupon rate of 3.51% in the Chinese interbank bond market.
The African Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank provided credit guarantees for the panda bonds. It is also the first such issue in the domestic bond market to be jointly guaranteed by two multilateral banks.
Fangda has advised the issuer on PRC law, with Christine Chen, a partner in its Beijing and Hong Kong offices, leading the team providing advice on project registration, bond issuance and continuing obligations.
Dechert partners Jennifer Rees and Patrick Lyons advised the Egyptian government on international law.
White & Case acted as international law counsel to the guarantors, with the team co-led by Beijing office managing partner David Li and the Hong Kong office’s local partner Xuan Jin.
Global Law’s partners Zhang Xin and Zhu Li dealt with guarantors’ PRC law matters.
JunHe acted as China counsel to the lead underwriters, Bank of China and HSBC, with Yu Yongqiang and Lei Tianxiao as lead partners, while Huang Wei was a core partner.
Panda bonds are issued by foreign institutions on domestic exchanges or in the interbank bond market and are denominated in renminbi.
Egypt will use the bond proceeds to support green projects in line with the country’s Sovereign Sustainable Financing Framework, including transport, renewable energy, sustainable management of water and sanitation, secure housing, and secure digital infrastructure.
