Morocco, Africa’s second largest leather exporting country, is set to issue its first international euro-denominated bond sale since 2020 and international bond since 2023. This follows from an official appointment mandate granted to international banks to oversee and execute the bond sale.
Per reports from Bloomberg, the Moroccan government had mandated BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and JP Morgan Chase & Co to set up possible investor meetings in Paris and London ahead of a possible deal. Lizard Inc. will act as the advisor for the deals.
In February 2025, the kingdom’s Finance Minister, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, announced that it would issue the bonds to raise the substantial capital needed to prepare for and host the World Cup in 2030, including the upgrading of the country’s stadium and the modernization of its transport system.
On the choice of the international bond to issue, the finance minister noted that rather than dollar bonds, the kingdom will issue euro bonds as they better align with the kingdom’s present needs.
The African country has strong ties to Europe, with the European Union being its major trading partner. With most of its likely financiers being European countries, issuing Euro-bonds will ensure the ready availability of funds for the projects.
Apart from the preparations for the World Cup, the kingdom also needs to raise at least $2 billion for its pension reforms.
While still speaking to Bloomberg, Alaoui noted that the Moroccan lawmakers have set a $6 billion ceiling for new foreign debts. About one-third of the total debts for the year are expected to come from bond sales, while the remainder will be funded through bilateral and institutional partners.
In March 2023, Morocco successfully issued a $2.5 billion bond on the international financial market with a two-tranche maturity of five and ten years, respectively. The five-year bond was offered at a price of 98.855%, and a rate of return of 6.22%, or a coupon of 5.95%. On the other hand, the 10-year bond was offered at 99.236%, and a rate of return of 6.602%, or a coupon of 6.50%.
By Bloomberg’s calculation from government data on March 20 2025, the yield of the 10-year bond is now valued at 5.8%, close to the lowest level in the year.
