South Africa: bonds

South Africa has the most developed fixed income market in Africa Government securities yield curve extends out to 26 years. The National Treasury (NT) issues Treasury bills with tenors for 91, 182, 273 and 365 days. Auctions are usually held weekly on Fridays, but T-bills may also be issued by private placement or any other means chosen by the NT. Minimum bids are for ZAR 1,000,000, with multiples of ZAR 100,000 thereafter. Direct access is through the Money Market Internet System (MMIS) to registered users. Republic of South Africa (RSA) Government Bonds are issued primarily to support the fiscal budget. This is exclusively a wholesale market with more sophisticated investors and systems, hence only primary dealers may take part in primary auctions of RSA Government bonds. The RSA retail savings bonds are better suited to the retail investors. South Africa is included in Citigroup’s world government bond index. Municipal Bonds are issued by city councils for development projects with tenors typically longer than one year. Municipal bond issues are not guaranteed by the central Government. Secondary market trading is very rare. Parastatal and corporate issuers are very active in the primary market for both short-term and long-term debt, the most noteworthy being ESKOM, Transnet and SANRAL. Other key issuers are the commercial banks, mortgage houses, asset finance houses, as well as off-balance sheet SIVs like securitizations and conduits. The Commercial paper (CP) primary market is very active and is tapped by corporate issuers and state-owned companies. The definition of Commercial paper in South Africa has less to do with its tenor, and CP in South Africa can have a maturity longer than one year. South Africa is a prominent African name in the international bond market. It is ahead of all other African nations in terms of eurobond issuance.