**Table 5.1 Bond markets in the African focus countries at end-2006**

|Country|Amount of total<br>outstanding<br>government bonds<br>as % GDP|Maximum term of<br>government bonds<br>(years) /a|Amount of total<br>outstanding<br>corporate bonds as<br>% GDP|Corporate bonds<br>issued by<br>infrastructure<br>providers as % total<br>outstanding|Maximum term of<br>corporate bonds<br>outstanding (years)<br>/b|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Benin|0|5|1.1|94|7|
|Burkina Faso|0|4|0.7|100|6|
|Cape Verde|29|14|0|n.a.|n.a.|
|Côte d’Ivoire|2|3|0|n.a.|n.a.|
|Ghana|8|5|0.5|0.0|5|
|Kenya|14|15|0.5|51|7|
|Lesotho /c|n.a.|10|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|
|Madagascar|n.a.|1|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|
|Malawi|1|25|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|
|Mozambique|2|10|0.3|55|10|
|Namibia|11|20|7.1|65|10|
|Nigeria|4|28|0.1|0|8|
|Senegal|1|5|0.8|93.5|7|
|South Africa|25|30|13.3|20.2|27|
|Sudan|—|6|—|—|—|
|Tanzania|4|10|0.4|0|10|
|Uganda|6|10|0.3|58|10|
|Zambia|4|5|0.2|43|12|

_Sources_ : Bond data are sourced from national and regional securities exchanges and from national regulatory authorities.

_Note_ : No data were available for Cameroon. Organized bond markets did not exist in Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Niger, or Rwanda as of this table’s reference date.

a. For issues outstanding at end-2006, except in the case of Benin. In Benin, no issues were outstanding, but the government issued a fiveyear bond traded on the Bourse régionale des valeurs mobilières (BRVM) in 2000. The maximum maturity terms for government bond issues in Kenya in 2006 was 12 years; in March 2007, the Kenyan government issued and listed its first 15-year bond on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. In Malawi, two special issues of 25-year government securities appeared in June 1983; otherwise, the longest term for outstanding government securities was 13 years.

b. For countries listing bonds on the BRVM (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal), the applicable date for outstanding bond amounts is April 30, 2007.

c. There is no government bond market per se in Lesotho, but in the late 1990s, the Lesotho government made 5- and 10-year issues of special purpose bonds to finance the restructuring of the Lesotho Bank; the 10-year issue remains outstanding and matures in 2009. The Central Bank of Lesotho was unable to release data/further information on the outstanding bond issues for confidentiality reasons (CBL 2006). — = Not available; n.a. = Not applicable.

Again with the exception of South Africa, trading activity of government bonds in 2006 was much lower than in other developing country markets, although some markets, such as Kenya’s, saw a considerable boost in trading activity over the period.<sup>45</sup> The 2,495 percent turnover ratio<sup>46</sup> of South 45 In Kenya, total annual bond turnover (government and corporate issues) increased by 257 percent in 2006 over the prior year, according to data reported by the Nairobi Stock Exchange. According to the NSE, the current system does not provide separate information for corporate bond turnover and Government of Kenya Treasury bond turnover; the relatively small amount of corporate bonds listed on the NSE rarely trade and are held to maturity. 46 Turnover ratio refers to the ratio of the annual trading volume of government bonds in 2006 to total outstanding government bonds as of year-end.

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