The International Finance Corporation’s $50m bond was on Wednesday admitted into the Daily Official List of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The bond, equivalent to N8bn, was issued by the corporation to support the country’s domestic capital market and increase access to local currency finance.

The Vice President and Treasurer, IFC, Mr. Jingdong Hua, said the bond would be used to support IFC’s development projects in Nigeria.

He said the size and tenor of the bond would depend on the needs of Nigerian clients and investors’ demand.

Hua said, “The bond is aimed to fund projects in areas such as infrastructure and also to develop the local capital market. At $50m, this will be a small issue designed to finance local private sector investments. But it is also the first by a non-resident issuer in Nigeria’s domestic market, and IFC is expecting some big results.

“In Nigeria, the government bond market has been functioning for a decade and the corporate market is starting to take shape. And so, this is very timely because with this, we are putting the Nigerian bond market in the world capital market map.

“There is a strong indication of the emergence of Nigeria as a choice destination for international investors. I hope IFC’s debut bond issuance will add to the momentum and help accelerate the bond market.”

He said the Nigerian bond was targeted at local banks as well as international investors, adding that huge interest in the issuance was likely to come from the country’s 21 growing pension funds, which were diversifying their fixed income holdings under revised regulations.

Hua said Nigeria’s capital markets received a fillip last year when the country’s bonds were admitted to JP Morgan’s emerging market Government Bond Index.

The Country Manager Africa Development, IFC, Mr. Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor, said the corporation had been working with different regulators in Nigeria for the past five years.

“We spent some time working with regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission,  Central Bank of Nigeria,  National Pension Commission and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria for the successful issuance of the bond,” he said.

He added that the bond would help develop the local market through reduced transaction costs and a streamlined issuance process and encouraged domestic businesses to tap fixed income investors for much-needed finance.

Source: Punch (written by Udeme Ekwere)