• Senegal raises 560 billion CFA francs in final 2025 bond sale

• Issuance exceeds target, reflecting strong demand despite fiscal pressures

• Proceeds fund 2025 budget needs and Vision 2050 priority projects

Senegal has completed its fourth and final bond issuance of 2025, raising 560 billion CFA francs ($1 billion), or 140% of its initial 400 billion CFA franc target, the finance ministry said.

The sale, which ran from Dec. 2 to Dec. 22, exceeded the target by 160 billion CFA francs, underscoring investor demand for Senegalese sovereign debt despite tight economic and financial conditions.

The proceeds will be used mainly to meet treasury requirements for the 2025 budget and to finance priority projects under the Senegal Vision 2050 programme, including in health, education, agriculture and infrastructure.

The ministry said the issuance would help support macroeconomic stability and improve the debt structure, with interest rates capped at 6.95% and maturities extending up to 10 years.

The final sale comes as Senegal faces mounting financing pressures in 2025. The disclosure of previously unreported debt, combined with the country’s loss of access to international capital markets, has pushed the government to rely heavily on the regional market to meet large funding needs.

Over the year, Senegal raised 2.225 trillion CFA francs through auctions on UMOA-Titres, the debt issuance agency of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), and a further 1.779 trillion CFA francs through syndicated bond offerings. Securities from these issues are due to be listed on the Regional Securities Exchange, with some already trading.

With the fourth issue, the government concludes its annual syndication programme after raising 405 billion CFA francs in April, 364 billion in July and 450 billion in October.

On Wednesday, Dec. 24, the Treasury also raised nearly 60 billion CFA francs from regional investors through a separate bond auction on UMOA-Titres.

Despite the heavy issuance, Senegal remains behind Ivory Coast, the region’s largest sovereign borrower, which raised more than 5.111 trillion CFA francs in 2025 on the UMOA-Titres market.

Fiacre E. Kakpo