• Mali seeks $176M via WAEMU bond offering launched July 28, with 7- and 5-year tranches at 6.55% and 6.35%.
• Funds aim to ease fiscal pressure amid flooding, mine shutdown, and 3.4% deficit in 2025.
• Limited external access pushes Mali to regional markets, with debt at 52.6% of GDP.

Mali's National Treasury is once again accessing the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)’s financial market to raise 100 billion CFA francs ($176 million) through a new public offering launched on Monday, July 28, 2025. The offering includes two bond tranches: a 70 billion CFA franc bond with a 7-year maturity and a gross interest rate of 6.55%, and a 30 billion CFA franc bond with a 5-year term yielding 6.35%.

The offering will be available until August 8, 2025, targeting institutional investors, businesses, and individuals across the eight countries of the Region. The securities, issued at full face value, feature a grace period on principal repayments: three years for the 7-year tranche and two years for the 5-year tranche. During this initial period, only interest payments are required, offering the state temporary cash flow relief.

This issuance aligns with a yield curve already established on the syndicated segment. On the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM), about fifteen Malian sovereign bonds are currently listed with similar gross yields: 6.20% for the 2029 maturity, 6.50% for 2030 and 2034, and 6.55% for 2031 and 2032.

Days before launching the public offering, the Treasury had already raised nearly 15 billion CFA francs through a 12-month Treasury bill auction via Umoa-Titres, a more dynamic market segment. This auction had a weighted average yield of 8.98%. This high rate illustrates short-term pressure, contrasting with the relative stability of long-term bonds.

In such a constrained environment, using the regional market appears to be a key tool for managing fiscal imbalances. The public deficit, expected to reach 3.4% of GDP in 2025, is projected to widen due to exceptional spending related to flooding, according to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections.

Growth, estimated at 5.0% this year, remains below initial forecasts. This is notably due to the temporary shutdown of the country’s primary gold mine and continued fragile security conditions. For 2026, the IMF projects a deficit reduction to 2.9%, conditional on a rebound in mining production and a restart of reforms. The institution emphasizes the need to increase tax revenues, better control spending, and improve the governance of public enterprises.

These are recurring recommendations in a context where the debt level remains contained at 52.6% of GDP in 2024. However, access to international financing remains limited by a sovereign rating classified as highly speculative, with Caa2 by Moody’s and B- by Fitch Ratings.

Fiacre E. Kakpo