Gabon to buy back half of its 2025 Eurobond, president says

LIBREVILLE, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Gabon plans to buy back 50% of its $600 million Eurobond that is maturing next June, the presidency said, to restore investor confidence after a political transition.

The government of the oil-producing West African nation, which took power in a 2023 coup that ended nearly 60 years of rule by one family, has been searching for a strategy to manage the debt taken on by the previous regime.

“The Gabonese government launched a public offer to repurchase 50% of its Eurobond, that is 192 billion CFA franc,” President Brice Oligui Nguema said in a social media post seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The figure he mentioned translates to the equivalent of just over $300 million, half of the bond that is maturing next June. The deal has been announced but the tender offer has yet to be launched, said an investor in the bond.

The transaction will be carried out without issuing a new loan for refinancing, Nguema said, without giving more details.

“This initiative reaffirms our commitment to restoring confidence in Gabon’s financial credibility,” he said.

There was no immediate response from government officials when Reuters sought more details about the transaction.

That 2025 bond has been rallying in recent weeks on expectations the government would pre-emptively start to buy back the bond ahead of maturity to signal its determination to restore investor confidence. It last traded just above 97 cents on the dollar.

Despite its oil wealth, Gabon has lower income per capita than in the 1970s, and relies on imports, including of food.

The IMF warned in May that fiscal imbalances widened significantly in recent years, pushing estimates of public debt to above 70% of GDP. ($1 = 600.5000 CFA francs) (Reporting by Libby George and Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

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