Côte d'Ivoire has accessed, for the first time, the Japanese bond market, the third largest capital market in the world, through the successful issuance of an ESG-labelled “Samurai Bond”. The announcement was made yesterday Thursday by the Ivorian Ministry of Finance and Budget in a statement

” The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire has taken a historic step by accessing the Japanese bond market for the very first time through an ESG-labelled Samourai Bond' issue, becoming the first state in Sub-Saharan Africa to carry out such a transaction,” the statement said.

According to the document, this issue, worth 50 billion Japanese yen, comes with a particularly attractive coupon of 2.3% over a 10-year maturity.

” The instrument, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was subscribed by leading Japanese institutional investors met during a roadshow conducted by the Ivorian authorities in Japan in April 2025.This transaction, successfully closed today in a context of volatility on international financial markets, reflects the Demonstrated confidence of Japanese investors in the quality of Côte d'Ivoire's signature, the statement said.

This operation, we learn, is also part of a dynamic of diversifying the country's sources of financing and expanding its investor base.

Moreover, according to the press release, this issue is distinguished by its innovative nature, through the guarantee granted by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) (JBIC), a Japanese institution rated A+, and the “Sustainability Bond” label.

After successively establishing a track record on the capital markets in dollars and euros, and opening the eurobond market denominated in CFA francs, Côte d'Ivoire thus accesses the bond market in yen, the third largest capital market in the world.