By Oke Peter
The continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has announced the issuance of an inaugural domestic dollar bond from the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), raising US$900 million and marking a significant milestone in the country’s economic development.
AFC acted as Global Coordinator on the first-of-its-kind issuance for Nigeria’s capital market. The bond which was issued at par has a tenor of five years and carries an annual coupon of 9.75%. The issue closed with a 180% oversubscription, underscoring strong domestic investor confidence in Nigeria’s economic stability and growth potential, and the effectiveness of AFC’s strategic capital markets leadership.
As a domestic issue, the investor base comprised Nigerians and non-Nigerians resident in Nigeria, Nigerians in the Diaspora, and institutional investors. The bond will be listed and available for trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (“NGX”) and FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited (“FMDQ Exchange”).
The successful issuance demonstrates AFC’s pivotal role in supporting the Nigerian government’s commitment to deepening domestic capital markets, promoting financial inclusion and diversifying funding sources. It marks the first issuance under the FGN’s Domestic US Dollar Bond Programme. Proceeds of the bond issue will be invested in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy approved by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, subject to appropriation by the National Assembly.
“This inaugural domestic US dollar bond issuance is a significant achievement for Nigeria and marks a new chapter in the development of the country’s capital markets,” said Banji Fehintola, Executive Director and Head of Financial Services, Africa Finance Corporation. “We are honoured to have played a leading role in this landmark transaction as the Global Coordinator, which aligns with AFC’s mission to develop domestic capital markets in Africa by providing innovative financing solutions that meet the continent’s unique needs and also leveraging our deep capital market expertise to serve and deliver value to our clients.
This successful issuance not only showcases Nigeria’s economic potential but also reinforces the benefits of African nations looking inward to tap the deep pool of domestic capital on the continent and taking the lead in financing their own development.”
AFC has a solid track record in capital markets with a well-established diverse investor engagement program that included issuance of a US$1.16 Billion global syndicated loan earlier this year. The Corporation was recently bestowed with “The Most Innovative Bond” award at the EMEA Finance Achievement Awards for its pioneering JPY 75 billion Samurai Bond Guarantee to the Arab Republic of Egypt and the “Best Supranational Syndicated Loan” award for securing a US$625 million syndicated loan last year, welcoming new lenders from the Middle East and Asia.
Alongside AFC’s role as Global Coordinator for the domestic bond issuance, United Capital Plc acted as Lead Issuing House/Coordinator; Meristem Capital Limited, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited and Vetiva Advisory Services Limited acted as Issuing Houses; Constant Capital Markets & Securities Limited and Iron Global Markets Limited acted as Financial Advisers; Olaniwun Ajayi LP and G. Elias acted as Solicitors; and Greenwich Trustees Limited acted as Trustee.
