N193.3m Bonds Traded in June, Says NSE

• N193.3m Bonds Traded in June

The total bond activities for the Federal Government and corporate entities for the month of June this year closed at N193.399m, the Nigerian Stock Exchange said in its monthly report released on Friday.

The report showed that on the Federal Government’s side, the total bonds traded amounted to N24.648m, while the corporate bonds/debenture for the period driven by Dana Group Plc stood at N168.75m.

The different government bonds traded were: 14.20 per cent FGN March 2024; 12.1493 per cent FGN July 2034; 15.54 per cent FGN February 2020; 12.50 per cent FGN January 2026; 16 per cent FGN June 2019; and 16.39 per cent FGN January 2022 bonds.

The values traded for each of the bonds were N2.865m, N1.542m, N13.467m, N1.455m, N2.977m and N2.34m, respectively.

Meanwhile, the value of listed bonds of the Federal Government on the NSE as of March 31 this year was N6.82tn.

This figure, according to findings by our correspondent, was generated from 20 listings on the bourse.

Following a series of monetary policy actions to boost liquidity and rate convergence in the foreign exchange market, the NSE marked a positive market performance in the first quarter of 2017 and saw the monthly turnover reach a two-year high of N142.56bn ($465.34m) in March.

In the first quarter, the average daily value traded across all products on the NSE increased by 47.58 per cent to N3.56bn ($11.61m), from N2.41bn ($12.16m) in the previous year.

However, the average daily volume traded declined by 45.18 per cent to 308.94 million units from 563.53 million units in the first quarter of 2016, indicating more high value/low volume trades in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the previous year.

On June 29, 2017, the first Nigerian Diaspora bond started trading on the London Stock Exchange, three weeks after its issue.

The five-year bond, with a coupon of 5.625 per cent, is the first from Nigeria that is registered with both the United Kingdom Listing Authority and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and targeted at retail investors, according to a statement by the LSE.

The Head of Middle East, Africa and South Asia, International Markets Unit, LSE, Ibukun Adebayo, was quoted as saying, “We are delighted to welcome Nigeria’s third capital raising this year on the London Stock Exchange. The innovative structure of the bond allows, for the first time, retail investors to participate in the financing of infrastructure projects as part of the development of Nigeria’s economy.

“The successful listing reinforces the London Stock Exchange’s position as a strong partner for Nigeria and as a leading global venue for raising debt finance.”

The issuance of the bond followed the country’s success in raising $1.5bn from a 15-year Eurobond earlier this year. Interest from retail investors around the world on the bond was high, indicating confidence in Nigeria’s economy.