Costs are too high for Rwanda to launch a debut Eurobond soon, and the country will need a second credit rating, Finance Minister said on Tuesday.

"We think the best timing (for a launch) would be in the next three years,” John Rwangombwa said, in response to a question at a conference.

"We are engaging investors; so far the signs are not very good. We want to have the second rating. So we see the price going down,” he said.

"At the moment we think the pricing we are being given is too high, relative to what is happening on international markets.”

Nigeria launched a debut Eurobond this year, following in the footsteps of Ghana and Gabon, and other African countries such as Zambia are also looking at launching international debt.

Rwanda is rated at B by Fitch and hopes to get a rating from Standard & Poor’s in the third quarter, Rwangombwa said on the sidelines of the conference.

Standard Bank was advising on the rating, he added.

Agencies