(Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast sold its first dollar bonds in almost seven years, issuing two tranches of debt totaling $2.6 billion in an offering that was oversubscribed more than three times.

The world’s biggest cocoa producer received more than $8 billion in combined demand for a sustainable bond maturing in 2033 and a conventional offering due in 2037, the Ministry of Finance and Budget said in a statement. The nation issued $1.1 billion via the sustainable bond and $1.5 billion for the conventional debt, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The sale marked Ivory Coast’s first foray into the dollar-bond market since June 2017, with most of its foreign debt sold in euro, which serves as a peg for the regional West African CFA franc currency. It also signals an end to sub-Saharan Africa nations’ effective lockout from international debt markets since the US Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in 2022.

Ivory Coast “is restoring room for maneuver and liquidity to the entire region,” the ministry said. The dollar-bonds will be eligible for inclusion on the JPMorgan EMBI Index for emerging-market debt.

“Index bonds have better liquidity,” said Sam Singh-Jami, Africa strategist at Rand Merchant Bank. The possible benefits include higher demand, lower yields and better visibility, she said.

The sustainable debt in this week’s sake was issued to yield 7.875%, compared with an initial price guidance of 8.375%. The conventional notes priced at 8.5%, lower than the initial target of 8.875%. The premium that investors demand for Ivory Coast bonds over US treasuries is now trading around its lowest in nearly two years at 619 basis points. 

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.