Post-pandemic borrowing spree, the taper troll and shifting idiosyncratic risk spaces
Topic: The highly accommodative external policy space provided a warm welcome to African creditors eager to tap global markets in the post-pandemic era. However, the FOMC signalled that it will soon embark on a path of ‘dovish tapering’ of its asset purchase programme, while we estimate that the golden era of global commodity price support has already started to wane. The concomitant receding global liquidity support and thinning visible trade surpluses are due to coincide with a double-down in pandemic-related external funding requirements as private sector recovery underperforms. We assess the shifts in the various pillars of risk for a number of hard-currency hopefuls and sketch out some of the funding avenues that these countries may explore.
Please note that we will be holding one webinar each for APAC, EMEA and the Americas friendly time zones:
- APAC – Tuesday 28th September | 10:00 HKT
- EMEA – Tuesday 28th September | 10:00 BST (11:00 SAST)
- Americas – Tuesday 28th September | 16:00 EDT

Irmgard Erasmus
Senior Financial Economist

Irmgard Erasmus
Senior Financial Economist
Irmgard Erasmus | Senior Financial Economist
Irmgard is a senior financial economist at NKC African Economics and primary contributor to NKC’s Daily Fixed Income report. Irmgard is also responsible for monitoring the Zambian and Ethiopian economies. She joined NKC in January 2013.
Irmgard has a postgraduate degree in Financial Economics from the University of Stellenbosch. She joined JP Morgan’s graduate trainee programme in 2011, where she focused on asset valuations in the context of multi-currency portfolios. Irmgard worked for JP Morgan for two years before joining NKC.
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