Barclays seeks P2bn on bond market
Friday, September 05, 2014
Barclays MD Reinette van der Merwe
The bond comes ahead of the bank’s release of the half-year financial results to June 2014. The results are expected to be more than ten percent lower than the corresponding period last year in which Barclays profit after tax fell 18 percent to P192 million.
According to Barclays, the bank will under the P2 billion Medium Term Note (MTN) programme not issue the whole amount at once but will from time to time issue a series of notes in tranches. The P2 billion note will replace Barclay’s current listed P100 million which is set to mature next month. According to Barclays, the final offer price, aggregate principal amount, interest, if any, of notes to be issued under the programme will be determined by the bank, and the arranger of the programme in accordance with prevailing market conditions. Finer details of the bond including issue date and tenure are yet to be provided. “The maximum aggregate nominal amount of all notes issued under this programme will not exceed P2 billion. The issuer may however, increase the amount of P2 billion with the consent of the Botswana Stock Exchange.
It is a clear signal that the government’s purse is empty and that our own behaviour has left veterinary officials fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. We have been here before. During COVID-19, many of us thought we knew better. We ignored simple rules, we carried on as if the danger was someone else’s problem, and the virus took lives and left our economy on its knees. We are still broke from that experience. Yet now, with FMD...