CAPITAL MARKET
FMDQ Exchange admits Nigerian Breweries’ commercial papers
FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited has announced the approval for the quotation on its platform of the Nigerian Breweries Plc N1.05bn Series 12, N0.94bn Series 13, and N2.67bn Series 14 Commercial Papers under its N100bn Commercial Paper Issuance Programme. The Exchange said in a statement on Tuesday that this brought the total CPs issued by the issuer since the renewal of its N100bn CP Programme in 2019 to N156.20bn, with a total of N14.76bn currently active. Punch
Portland Paints, BUA, others lead market loss
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) extended losses to two consecutive sessions, yesterday, as more blue-chip stocks, including Portland Paints and Products and BUA Cement, depreciated, resulting in a further decline in the All-Share Index (ASI) by 0.72 per cent. The all-share index (ASI) dropped by 283.95 absolute points, representing a decline of 0.72 per cent to close at 39,022.52 points while the overall market capitalisation depreciated by N148 billion to close at N20.339 trillion. The Guardian
BANKING
NOVA Merchant Bank Bond’s ‘A’ Rating Reaffirmed
Datapro has reaffirmed its “A” rating on Nova Merchant Bank’s N10 billion 7-Year Subordinated Unsecured Bond issued under its N50 billion debt issuance programme. The bond has a fixed coupon rate of 12 per cent per annum. The achievement followed the recent publication of the bank’s financial results for the full year 2020, in which it declared a profit after tax of N3.49 billion in 2020, compared to N1.65 billion in 2019. This Day
Afreximbank Closes Historic $1.3bn Bond
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) yesterday announced that it has successfully closed a $1.3 billion dual tenor bond issuance, the bank’s largest-ever transaction in the international debt capital markets. Afreximbank printed a $600 million 5-year note at a spread of T+185 basis points (bps) and a $700 million 10-year note at a spread of T+220bps, after achieving a final order book of $4.5 billion. A statement explained that the Initial Pricing Thoughts (IPTS) were announced at T+220bps area and T+250bps area for the 5-year and 10-year tranches, respectively. This Day
ECONOMY
LCCI, ACCI, others raise concerns as Buhari seeks nod for fresh $6.1bn loan
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has asked the National Assembly to approve N2.3tn ($6.18bn) external loan to enable him to fund part of the 2021 N13.8trn national budget. The request was contained in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila and read at plenary in both chambers on Tuesday. Buhari said the proposed loan, equivalent of N2.3tn, was to finance the 2021 budget deficit of N5.6tn. Punch
Goddy Egene writes that as inflation rate remains above 18 per cent, the stock market still provides investors opportunity to earn positive returns on their investments. When investors stake their funds, their expectation is to reap positive returns on investments. That means a return that is above inflation rate. And considering the fact that inflation rate stood at 18.12 per cent as at the end of April 2021, investors must invest in securities that would produce a return of above 18.12 per cent. This Day