Despite COVID-19 Pandemic, Govt, Corporates Raise N960bn On NSE

Management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), on Tuesday said it has continued to provide a platform for capital raising by both government and corporate organization, despite the lockdown imposed to check the spread of the novel Coronavirus pandemic across the country.

With the aid of its Business Continuity Plan that saw the transition to remote trading and working from home on 24 March 2020, the exchange said it has helped corporates and government raise capital in excess of N968bn.

This, it explained in a statement, ranged from new and supplementary bond listings to Rights Issues, private placements and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which were utilized to pay down financial obligations, support working capital, improve infrastructure development and facilitate business expansion. 

The market also attracted several new listings, the most recent being LAPO Microfinance Bank’s N6.2bn Bond on Monday, 29 June 2020, which came soon after the listing of Dangote Cement’s N100bn Bond on Friday, June 26, 2020, the largest corporate bond issued in the Nigerian debt capital market.

Speaking recently, the Chief Executive of the NSE, Oscar Onyema, said the bourse “is resolute in its commitment to be a trusted business partner to all our Issuers in accessing right-sized capital and achieving their strategic business objectives.

“In our efforts to fulfil this mandate, we have achieved all-round increased efficiency in terms of competitive pricing structures, increased turnaround time, enhanced customer experience and improved time to market. We believe this has translated into the remarkable resilience we have displayed amidst this pandemic, as well as increased investors’ confidence as reflected in stakeholders’ participation in our market across various asset classes,” he added.

Since March 24, the NSE has successfully listed: LAPO Microfinance Bank’s N6.2bn Bond; 900,000 units of the NewGold ETF valued at N7 Billion; Dangote Cement Plc’s N100 Billion Bond; UACN Property Development Plc’s N16 Billion Rights Issue; FBNQuest Merchant Bank’s Series-1 N5bn Bond; Flour Mills’ N12.5bn and N7.5bn Bonds; Primero BRT Securitisation SPV Plc bond worth N16.1bn Bond; Golden Guinea Breweries Plc’s N1.2bn Private Placement; and several Government Bonds worth over N797bn.