UPDATE 5-Gabon coup triggers dollar bond slump, raises funding questions for region
Published on: Tuesday 29 August 2023
Gabon's military coup sparked the steepest daily drop in its dollar bonds on Wednesday since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and came just weeks after the country carried out continental Africa's first debt-for-nature swap. A group of senior military officers in the Central African nation announced on TV in the early hours of Wednesday that they had taken control, minutes after the state election body announced that President Ali Bongo had won a third term. The country's bond due for repayment in 2025 fell the most, by as much as 14 cents, before recovering to end the day down almost 8.5 cents on the dollar at 85 cents.
