The World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has issued N12 billion ($75 million) of its debut Nigeria local currency bond.

Reuters  Tuesday quoted a banker who had knowledge of the deal to have disclosed that the fixed income instrument had a yield of 10.2 per cent.

It stated that total subscription for the five-year IFC paper was about N20 billion, “meaning a 2.5 times oversubscription from the initial N8 billion ($50 million) equivalent they had initially planned to raise.”

The IFC is the largest global development institution solely responsible for investment in the private sector of developing countries.

IFC is a leading investor in microfinance in sub-Saharan Africa, with a fast-growing, well-performing portfolio of equities, debt and advisory projects.

IFC’s portfolio includes 24 microfinance clients across 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which have reached over 1.5 million microenterprises and low-income households.

The World Bank recently has projected that the Nigerian economy would sustain its growth trend this year, with a forecast that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would climb this year.

The Bank in its latest Global Economic Prospects had also pointed out that fresh foreign investments were expected to be the main drivers of the economic growth in Nigeria and other African countries this year.

Source: Thisday