Nasdaq Dubai lists $1.55 billion Congo bonds in African sovereign first

Summary

• Nasdaq Dubai listed $1.55 billion of Republic of the Congo sovereign bonds on Monday.
• The two tranches both carry 9.500% coupons and amortise, maturing in 2035 and 2036.
• It is the exchange's first African sovereign issuer, a potential gateway for other African borrowers.

The latest

Sovereign bonds worth $1.55 billion issued by the Republic of the Congo began trading on Nasdaq Dubai on Monday 19 October 2026, the first listing by an African sovereign issuer on the exchange, according to the Dubai Media Office. The deal pushes total debt listed on the market past $147.5 billion, of which sovereign issuance accounts for 43%.

Details

• The structure: The listing is split across two tranches of amortising notes, both priced at a 9.500% coupon: $700 million maturing on 17 February 2035, and $850 million maturing on 26 May 2036. Amortising notes repay principal in instalments over the life of the bond rather than in a single payment at maturity.
• The scale: With the Congo paper added, total debt instruments listed on Nasdaq Dubai now exceed $147.5 billion, according to the Dubai Media Office. Sovereign issuance makes up 43% of that figure, with the remainder coming from corporate and other issuers on the exchange.
• The first: Nasdaq Dubai described the transaction as the first time an African sovereign issuer has listed on the exchange. The market has previously built its debt franchise around Gulf, Asian and multilateral issuers, making the Congo listing a geographic expansion of its sovereign client base.
• Congo's position: Christian Yoka, Minister of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio of the Republic of the Congo, framed the listing as part of a deepening economic and financial relationship with the UAE, saying Brazzaville places high value on strengthening that partnership. He did not detail further planned issuance.
• The exchange view: Hamed Ali, chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai and the Dubai Financial Market, called the transaction "a milestone moment for Nasdaq Dubai". He is the senior executive responsible for both the international exchange and Dubai's main domestic equities market.
• The regulator: Mark Steward, chief executive of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, said the listing reflects growing connectivity between Africa and the Dubai International Financial Centre. The DFSA is the independent regulator of financial services conducted in and from the DIFC, where Nasdaq Dubai operates.
• Pricing signal: Both tranches carry a 9.500% coupon, a yield level that sits well above pricing typically achieved by investment-grade sovereign borrowers. The announcement did not disclose the size of the order book, the investor breakdown, or whether the notes were newly issued or already outstanding.
• Dubai's strategy: The listing extends an effort by Dubai to position itself as a listing venue for debt issuers outside its traditional Gulf base. Neither the exchange nor the regulator named other African sovereigns in discussion or set a timeline for further listings from the continent.

Background

Nasdaq Dubai is the international exchange based in the Dubai International Financial Centre, regulated by the DFSA and operating alongside the Dubai Financial Market. It has grown primarily as a venue for sukuk and conventional bond listings rather than equities.

Between the lines

The 9.500% coupon on both tranches points to a borrowing cost far above what highly rated sovereigns pay, suggesting the listing's value to Brazzaville lies less in cheap funding than in visibility with Gulf investors. For Dubai, adding a first African sovereign to a book already exceeding $147.5 billion matters more as a precedent than as volume.

What's next

Watch whether other African sovereigns follow Congo onto Nasdaq Dubai, how the two tranches trade against their 9.500% coupons, and whether Brazzaville announces further issuance tied to its stated partnership with the UAE.

Source: Dubai Media Office; Emarat Al Youm