ABIDJAN (Reuters) – A planned 30 billion CFA francs ($51 million) bond issuance by Niger scheduled for Monday in the West African regional debt market has been cancelled by the regional central bank following the imposition of sanctions over a coup, market sources said.
West African leaders on Sunday imposed sanctions on Niger, including a halt in all financial transactions and a national assets freeze, to try to force a junta that seized power in the Sahel nation last week to restore constitutional order.
Niger, which is one of the world’s poorest countries and largely depends on external aid and financing, was expected to issue two other bonds in the regional market on Aug. 7 and Aug. 17, according to an issuance calendar of the regional debt management agency.
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Conor Humphries)
