Ivory Coast targets Eurobond in February of less than $1 bln-prime minister

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast is aiming to issue a new Eurobond of less than $1 billion at the end of next month as it seeks to spur post-war economic development, the West African nation's Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan said on Thursday. "The discussions are under way with our partners to sort out the practicalities," he told a press conference in the economic capital Abidjan. "The target is for the end of February so that the money is available in March." Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cocoa producer and French-speaking West Africa's largest economy, is emerging from a decade-long political crisis that ended in a brief 2011 civil war. Under President Alassane Ouattara, a former International Monetary Fund official, the country has embarked on a strategy of heavy borrowing to finance a sweeping programme of infrastructure renewal intended to woo investors. Amid heavy interest from investors, it sold $750 million of 10-year Eurobonds in July after initially seeking $500 million. In addition to the new Eurobond, Ivory Coast will also seek to issue a first-time 200 billion CFA franc ($346 million) Sukuk bond this year, according to the West African region's debt planning agency. ($1 = 578.1400 CFA francs)