Economy
NGX, IFC Provide Guidance on Labelled Bond Issuance Process
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
To drive deepen sustainable finance in the country so as to support the $1 trillion economy target of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has teamed up with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to organise a workshop on labelled bond issuance.
Labelled bonds, including green, social, blue, and sustainability-linked instruments, are increasingly used globally to channel private capital into climate-resilient infrastructure, clean energy, and inclusive development.
While cumulative global issuance surpassed $6.2 trillion by end-2024, uptake in Nigeria remains limited, largely due to gaps in technical structuring, certification, and disclosure frameworks.
It was because of this the two organisations joined forces to co-host a technical capacity-building seminar to advance labelled bond issuance in Nigeria, supporting the real sector and accelerating the country’s sustainable finance objectives.
The event, themed Unlocking Sustainable Capital for the Real Sector: A Deep Dive into the Labelled Bonds Issuance Process, brought together issuers, market operators, institutional investors, regulators, and policymakers for practical discussions on opportunities and challenges within the sustainable bond ecosystem.
It provided guidance on the issuance process and highlighted the advantages of listing bonds through the stock exchange as Nigeria pursues climate-resilient and inclusive.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, at the programme, emphasised the critical role of sustainable finance in Nigeria’s growth strategy.
“Unlocking sustainable capital is central to achieving Nigeria’s vision of a $1 trillion economy, shared prosperity, and long-term resilience,” he said.
The Head of Trading and Products at NGX, Abimbola Babalola, stated, “Bond listings on NGX offer issuers access to a diversified investor base and enhance market transparency, key for sustainable capital mobilisation.”
Also, the Principal Country Officer at IFC, Mr Christian Mulamula, highlighted his organisation’s commitment to deepening market infrastructure and sustainability-linked investments across Africa, declaring, “We share an ambition for Nigeria to become a model for green and sustainable finance on the continent.”
A representative of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Husaini Shettima, described the workshop as timely for advancing sustainable marine finance, noting that, “The next frontier is developing a robust blue bond framework that aligns with national priorities and global standards.”
As the Special Adviser and Coordinator of Sovereign Green Bonds, Olaitan Fajuyitan, said the issuance of a N50 billion sovereign green bond by the federal government to finance renewable energy, afforestation, clean transport, and sustainable agriculture “underscores Nigeria’s commitment to scaling private finance in line with national development goals.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
