Economy
Nigerian Green Bond Market Grows to N49.19bn
By Dipo Olowookere
In three years, the Nigerian green bond market grew by N49.19 billion from the scratch, giving local investors alternative investment opportunities and deepening the ecosystem, Business Post reports.
Before 2017, the space was untapped but the desire by the regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, spurred the creation of the market in Nigeria.
A total of four issuances have been recorded in the country from 2017 to 2019. Nigeria has not recorded any since the last two years and one of the major reasons could be the COVID-19 pandemic of last year.
In 2017, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) issued the debut N10.69 billion, 13.48% 5-year sovereign green bond; followed by the N15 billion 15.5% 5-year fixed-rate senior unsecured green bond issued by Access Bank Plc; the N8.5 billion 15.6% 15-year guaranteed fixed-rate senior green infrastructure bond by North-South Power (NSP) Company; and the Series II N15 billion 14.5% FGN 7-year sovereign green bond in 2019, which recorded a 220 per cent subscription rate (oversubscribed by N17.93 billion).
In the view of the CEO of NGX Limited, Mr Temi Popoola, the local green bond market as well as the Sukuk market, have huge potentials to deepen the capital market.
“The potential for Sukuk and green bonds remains immense and is likely to expand over the years underpinned by new markets, products and issuers and healthy investor investors’ appetite,” he said at a webinar held on Tuesday on Green Bonds: More Than Just Investing.
Speaking further, Mr Popoola assured that, “The exchange will continue to provide an efficient and liquid market for investors and businesses in Africa, to save and access ethical and SDG compliant capital and investments.”
“We promise to continue our collaboration with all market stakeholders, to collectively contribute towards the enhancement of this exciting asset class, and ultimately towards the growth of green and Sukuk bonds in Nigeria and Africa at large,” he further assured.
The summit was held as part of efforts to drive the development and promotion of retail participation in the Nigerian capital market. It was put together in collaboration with APT Securities and Funds Limited, with different stakeholders in attendance.
In his presentation, the Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, represented by Mr Abdulkabir Abass, lauded the organisers, saying “educational programmes such as this” were in line with his agency’s determination to build “capacity and growth the depth and breadth of the market.”
“This is particularly noteworthy in the emerging segments of non-interest and socially responsible investment.
“As the apex regulator, the SEC has the dual responsibility of regulation and market development. Forums like this, therefore, afford us the opportunity to educate retail investors on the gain of investing in the Nigerian capital market through green and Sukuk bonds.
“These segments of the market are quite unique and boast full potential that can facilitate the deepening of financial systems while spurring the growth of the economy, making this deliberation indeed timely,” he added.
The webinar featured a presentation on Harnessing Green Bond as a Tool for Personal Growth by the Assistant Director, Securities Issuance Unit, DMO, Mr Adamu Mohammed, who pointed out that investors were increasingly demanding socially responsible investment and have expressed a strong appetite for green bonds evidenced by subscription rates in Nigeria’s sovereign green bonds increasing to 220 per cent in 2019 over the 110 per cent at the debut issuance.
The Managing Director/CEO APT Securities, Mr Kasimu Garba Kurfi, used the occasion to provide insights on bridging the gap between ethical investing and socio-economic development, before going on to feature in a panel session alongside Ms Ummahani Ahmad Amin, Board Member, NGX; and Dr Afolabi Olowookere, Head, Economic Research and Policy Management Division, SEC.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange weakened by 0.22 per cent on Tuesday, April 28, with the market capitalisation down by N4.8 billion to N2.420 trillion from N2.425 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) down by 9.01 points to 4,044.96 points from 4,053.97 points.
During the session, the price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N1.82 to N767.05 per share from N78.87 per share, while FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N100.00 per unit from N98.10 per unit.
According to data, the value of trades increased by 265.7 per cent to N27.1 million from N7.4 million units, and the volume of transactions surged by 305.2 per cent to 1.3 million units from 319,831 units, while the number of deals decreased by 6.9 per cent to 27 deals from 29 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.8 million units exchanged for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also finished as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pressure is beginning to mount on the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market despite an oil windfall triggered by the Middle East crisis.
On Monday, April 27, the domestic currency further weakened against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N16.47 or 1.2 per cent to N1,380.71/$1 from the previous day’s N1,364.24/$1.
It was not different against the Pound Sterling in the same market window, as it lost N16.04 to trade at N1,863.76/£1 versus Monday’s closing rate of N1,847.72/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N12.72 to close at N1,615.01/€1 versus N1,602.29/€1.
The Naira also depreciated against the Dollar at the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,390/$1 compared with the previous price of N1,385, and at the GTBank forex counter, it further crashed by N9 to settle at N1,379/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,370/$1.
The continued decline of the Naira comes as traders increasingly seek other safe-haven currencies amid continued global disruptions.
The benefit awash in the global market is making foreign portfolio investors stay short in Nigerian markets. Despite this, the daily FX publication released showed that interbank turnover rose to $98.829 million across 78 deals, up from $76.65 million.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained cautious, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $77,216.66 despite surging oil prices and geopolitical tensions over a potential extended US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts say the supply overhang has finally dried up, and the sellers who were spooked by macro shifts or quantum fears have already exited, leaving the market much thinner on the sell-side.
Investors will await decisions made by central banks this week. The US Federal Reserve will announce its rate decision later on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank (ECB) follows on Thursday.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 1.5 per cent to trade at $2,324.59, Dogecoin (DOGE) chalked up 1.4 per cent to sell for $0.1016, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $84.85, Cardano (ADA) grew by 0.5 per cent to $0.2483, and Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 0.2 per cent to $627.15.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.3224, and Ripple (XRP) lost 0.03 per cent to sell at $1.39, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil was up by nearly 3 per cent on Tuesday as persistent worries about supply constraints from the closed Strait of Hormuz continued, with Brent futures for June rising by $3.03 or 2.8 per cent to $111.26 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures growing by $3.56 or 3.7 per cent to $99.93 a barrel.
An earlier round of negotiations between the United States and Iran collapsed last week after face-to-face talks failed.
Ship-tracking data showed significant disruptions in the region, with six Iranian oil tankers forced to turn back due to the US blockade, but some traffic is still moving.
Prices trimmed some of the advances after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the fourth-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday it would exit the group on this Friday, May 1, 2026.
This dealt a blow to the oil-exporting group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia.
The UAE could quickly add between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day of output. However, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, analysts said that there’s nowhere for that supply to go.
The UAE joined OPEC in 1967, but tension with Saudi Arabia over production quotas has been building for years.
Under the OPEC+ deal, the country has been held to roughly 3 million barrels per day while sitting on capacity above 4 million. It has been pushing toward 5 million barrels per day by 2027, and that target is hard to achieve with quotas built around someone else’s view of the market.
The war in Yemen broke whatever was left of diplomatic patience.
President Donald Trump said he was unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal to end the war. The proposal would avoid addressing the nuclear programme until hostilities cease and Gulf shipping disputes are resolved.
The Idemitsu Maru, a Panama-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, and an LNG tanker managed by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) crossed the Strait on Tuesday, shipping data showed.
Vortexa data showed that the amount of crude oil held around the world on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose to 153.11 million barrels as of April 24.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.79 million barrels in the week ending April 24. The official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
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