Published: May 15, 2020
The African Development Bank printed a US$3bn bond in March to combat the coronavirus pandemic that has taken the world by the throat, and other supranational and development issuers are following suit as the finance world looks for ways to help overcome the pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic hit more than two million confirmed cases and was nearing 150,000 deaths worldwide as of April 17, and the numbers will no doubt be exponentially higher when EMEA Finance goes to print, as many countries across the world went into social and economic lockdowns that were unprecedented in peace time.
In much of EMEA, companies deemed not essential were forced to close and citizens were told to stay at home, with legal ramifications for those that did not obey new laws hastily put in place in many countries. These rules are only just starting to be relaxed, though experts and politicians around many parts of the world have indicated that some sort of extraordinary social boundaries will be in place for many months.
The financial markets have stepped in to try and fill the yawning chasm this has left in entire countries’ economies. Central banks and governments around the world launched simultaneous stimulus packages totalling trillions of dollars in an attempt to stave off a global depression.