Economy
FBNQuest Merchant Bank Offers to Help SMEs Issue CPs, Bonds
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and corporates looking to raise funds for their day-to-day operations, commercial papers and bonds can be issued instead of obtaining a loan from commercial banks.
This is the view of FBNQuest Merchant Bank, the investment banking and asset management group of FBN Holdings Plc.
A commercial paper, also known as CP, is a money-market security issued by companies with a maturity of not more than 270 days to get capital from investors to meet short-term debt obligations.
On its part, a bond is a note issued by organisations to obtain funds from investors at a coupon rate but has longer maturity, unlike the CP. Most companies sell bonds with a tenor of three, five, seven and 10 years and even more.
Raising capital is one of the challenges small business owners face, but FBNQuest Merchant Bank is offering to assists SMEs to overcome this hurdle.
As a leading investment banking institution, FBNQuest has advised on the issuance of several commercial papers transactions for organisations such as Valency Agro Nigeria Limited, Mixta Real Estate plc, Dangote Cement plc, Nigerian Breweries plc (NB), Lafarge Africa plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria plc (FMN), Wema Bank plc, and UACN Property Development Company plc (UPDC) to mention a few.
These transactions add to the firm’s impressive portfolio of organisations it has supported and once again highlights its capabilities in the successful execution of sizeable capital market and commercial debt transactions.
At the latest edition of the Leading Conversations with FBNQuest webinar series, Mr Oluseun Olatidoye, the Head Capital Markets, FBNQuest, noted that many companies do not take advantage of Nigeria’s growing commercial paper and bond market to access stable funds that match their capital needs.
“Even though interest rates have trended higher in the first quarter of this year, there is still significant scope for many companies to access cheaper and more stable funding from investors who are seeking well-run businesses with predictable cashflows to invest in,” said Mr Olatidoye.
The webinar with the theme Funding through Commercial Papers and Bonds was hosted to engage corporates and investors on the opportunities within issuing and investing in commercial papers and bonds.
Mr Olatidoye submitted that Nigeria’s capital market has recorded a flurry of corporate commercial papers and bond issues since a sharp decline in interest rates in the third quarter of 2020.
“We think the market conditions have just cast the spotlight on a financing option that discerning companies should consider.
“We look forward to working with our clients to navigate the process of issuing CPs and bonds and therefore unlocking the efficiency and convenience that these instruments offer” stated Mr Olatidoye.
Other speakers included Sumit Jain, Senior Executive Director at Valency International, a leading food-ingredient supply chain company. He echoed the sentiment about the benefits of issuing commercial papers.
“We believe that corporates can lower the interest paid on bank debts by up to 4 percentage points by issuing commercial papers. Loans also offer other tremendous benefits in the current macroeconomic environment,” said Jain.
By Adedapo Adesanya
MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, has entered advanced discussions to buy approximately 75 per cent of shares in IHS Holding Limited (IHS Towers) that it does not already own.
The move would give the South African telco full control of IHS, which is the leading independent tower operator in several of its key markets, providing colocation services and supporting the expansion of mobile networks in regions with growing demand for digital connectivity.
In a cautionary announcement to investors on Thursday, MTN confirmed it is considering a transaction to acquire the remaining stake in the New York Stock Exchange-listed IHS, following recent market speculation.
The potential offer price would be “at a level near the last trading price” of IHS shares on the NYSE as of February 4, 2025, a period when the stock has seen a sharp rise in recent months, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the sector.
No binding agreement has been reached, and MTN emphasised there is no certainty that the deal will proceed.
However, if completed, the transaction could materially impact MTN’s share price, prompting the company to advise shareholders to exercise caution in trading until further updates.
MTN already holds a significant stake in IHS and maintains a deep operational partnership across multiple African markets.
Over the past decade, MTN has sold thousands of passive network sites to IHS through sale-and-leaseback deals, including a major transaction in South Africa in 2022 involving over 5,700 towers.
These arrangements allowed MTN to free up capital from infrastructure while securing long-term tower access via master lease agreements.
A full buyout would represent a dramatic strategic pivot for MTN, effectively bringing tower infrastructure back in-house after years of outsourcing to specialised operators like IHS.
MTN has previously voiced concerns about corporate governance at IHS, adding context to its cautious approach in the announcement.
If the deal falls through, MTN said it would continue exploring options to unlock value from its IHS investment, consistent with its disciplined capital allocation strategy.
The potential acquisition underscores the evolving dynamics in Africa’s telecom infrastructure sector, where operators weigh the benefits of owning versus leasing critical assets amid rising data demands and economic pressures.
By Adedapo Adesanya
For the third consecutive trading session, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended in the green territory, rising further by 0.77 per cent on Thursday, February 5.
Two price gainers helped the bourse to rally during the session, with the market capitalisation up by N16.87 billion to N2.197 trillion from N2.180 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) up by 3.18 points to 3,672 points from the 3,644.48 points in the midweek session.
The advancers’ group was led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which added N3.70 to sell at N48.67 per share versus the previous day’s N44.97 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc expanded by N1.01 to N15.01 per unit from N14.01 per unit.
It was observed that the alternative stock exchange recorded two price losers led by Geo-Fluids Plc, which further lost 51 Kobo to sell at N4.75 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N5.26 per share, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) declined by 6 Kobo to 59 Kobo per unit from 65 Kobo per unit.
During the session, the volume of securities transacted by investors slid by 51.9 per cent to 1.2 million units from 2.5 million units, the value of securities went down by 32.0 per cent to N12.0 million from N17.7 million, and the number of deals increased by 27.8 per cent to 23 deals from 18 deals.
At the close of trades, CSCS Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 16.2 million units exchanged for N659.9 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.7 million units traded for N117.8 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 12.3 million units valued at N79.1 million.
CSCS Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 16.2 million units sold for N659.9 million, trailed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 13.6 million units valued at N5.5 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 12.3 million units worth N79.1 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited recorded another milestone after it further closed higher by 1.18 per cent on Thursday amid renewed confidence in the market.
The All-Share Index (ASI) crossed the 170,000-point threshold during the session as it added 1,975.18 points to the preceding day’s 168,030.18 points to settle at 170,005.36 points.
Also yesterday, the market capitalisation of Customs Street was up by 1,268 trillion to N109.129 trillion from the N107.861 it ended a day earlier.
The growth recorded during the session was powered 55 equities, which outweighed the losses recorded by 19 other equities.
Guinea Insurance expanded by 10.00 per cent to N1.43, Seplat Energy grew by 10.00 per cent to N7,370.00, RT Briscoe increased by 9.95 per cent to N11.49, Neimeth chalked up 9.90 per cent to close at N11.10, and Zichis rose by 9.89 per cent to N6.11.
At the other side, Deap Capital lost 9.62 per cent to trade at N6.20, Universal Insurance slipped by 9.43 per cent to N1.44, Haldane McCall declined by 9.09 per cent to N4.00, Red Star Express went down by 9.04 per cent to N15.60, and UPDC depreciated by 7.02 per cent to N5.30.
Business Post reports that the energy index was up by 4.68 per cent, the industrial goods improved by 0.79 per cent, the banking space grew by 0.64 per cent, and the consumer goods sector soared by 0.11 per cent, while the insurance counter lost 0.31 per cent.
Yesterday, market participants traded 713.0 million stocks valued at N22.3 billion in 46,104 deals versus the 694.8 million stocks worth N20.6 billion transacted in 42,095 deals on Wednesday, showing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 2.62 per cent, 8.25 per cent, and 9.52 per cent, respectively.
Access Holdings sold 106.6 million shares valued at N2.5 billion, Chams transacted 44.5 million equities worth N201.3 million, Champion Breweries traded 44.5 million stocks for N774.3 million, Universal Insurance exchanged 34.8 million shares worth N53.6 million, and Deap Capital sold 22.7 million equities valued at N141.9 million.
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