Business News
Dangote Lists N300bn Bonds, Largest Ever on NGX, FMDQ
Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has formally listed its N300 billion Series 1 and 2 bonds issued under the Dangote Industries Funding Plc during a grand listing ceremony at both the FMDQ and the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) in Lagos.
Olakunle Alake, Group Managing Director of Dangote Industries Limited told investors during the listing ceremony that the bonds were primarily for part-financing the Group’s 650,000 bpd refinery project.
He explained that the decision of the Company to issue bonds to raise the required capital for part-financing the refinery project was to encourage the participation of Nigerians in the financing of the project.
He noted that the bonds remains the largest aggregate local currency bond issuance within a calendar year by any corporate organization in the history of the capital markets. .Mr. Alake noted that following very rigorous internal assessment, the management concluded that tapping the local capital markets was inevitable, considering the sheer scale of the project being developed, as well as the existing market volatility.
He said that while the Dangote Group is not new at raising funds in the local capital markets, being a first-time issuer at the holding company level presented a fresh challenge for the Company. However, the challenge was one the management was willing to embrace to ensure the desired outcome was achieved.
According to him: “Today, we are delighted to have successfully completed the largest aggregate local currency bond issuance by a corporate in the Nigerian capital markets within a calendar year. The proceeds from the Series 1 and 2 bond issuances were dedicated to part-financing the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Project which is the initiative by the Group to establish an Integrated Petrochemical Complex, and the largest Single Train Petroleum Refinery in the World.”
Alake recalled that the DIL recorded another first through the N187 billion series 1 bonds (under the N300 billion programme), being the largest corporate bond ever issued in the history of the Nigerian capital markets and the management was pleased to have set the remarkable milestones, showcasing the depth, resilience and liquidity of the domestic capital markets, whilst reflecting the strong credit quality of the issuer, despite the current global market volatility.
He said: “The bonds issuances were well received by the market and recorded participation from a wide range of investors including domestic pension funds, asset managers, insurance companies, and high net-worth investors.
Indeed, the reception of the market was buoyed by the strategic importance of the project and its expected impact on the Nigerian economy. Overall, we strongly believe the success of the Series 1 and 2 bond issuances further demonstrates investor confidence in our credit story and the appreciation of the work done by the Group across several key sectors that are crucial to the development of Nigeria and the continent at large.”
Alake pointed out that his Company was not new in the business of listing securities on NGX. “We are therefore conversant with all the listing requirements and promise to be prompt and up to date in that regard. We count on the cooperation and support of NGX and the stockbrokers to meet this important investors’ objective.”
The DIL Group Managing Director assured that the company would remain resolute in the Nigerian and African story and continue to demonstrate commitment, as one of the foremost pan-African conglomerates, through investments in projects and initiatives that directly improve the quality of lives of Nigerians. “Indeed, these are very exciting times for us as a business, and so we would continue to welcome opportunities to work with stakeholders in the domestic capital markets towards accelerating the economic activities across Africa, whilst maximizing stakeholder returns.
Also speaking at the event, the lead Issuing House for series 1 of the bonds and the Chief Executive Officer, of Standard Chartered Capital & Advisory Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Yemisi Deji-Bejide, expressed appreciation of her organization to the management of the DIL for reposing so much confidence in Standard Chartered by entrusting it with the responsibility.
She said: “Every time we gather at FMDQ for the listing ceremony of an issuance by the Dangote Group, it is always a record milestone. Early in 2022, we issued a bond for Dangote Cement which was the largest corporate bond issuance at the time, and little did we know that a few months down the line, the Group will comfortably break that record.
Mrs. Deji-Bejide described the success of the transaction as a strong testament to the fact that Investors strongly believe in Dangote Group’s credit story and are willing to continue to support the growth of the business. Also, she said it demonstrated the depth of the Nigerian capital markets and resilience, despite all the volatility in the global markets and the macro headwinds.
“Lastly and most importantly, investors are keen to support impactful infrastructure projects in Nigeria, as the proceeds of the bond are being used to fund the largest single train refinery in the world”, Mrs. Deji-Bejide added.
Meanwhile, at the Nigeria Exchange Limited where the symbolic gong ceremony was held to commemorate the listing, the Group Managing Director for DIL, Mr. Alake, who was represented by the DIL Group Chief Finance Officer , Mallam Mustapha Ibrahim thanked the investor community for their support for the transaction as well as our various advisors and stakeholders.
He also commended the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) for its unwavering support throughout this entire process of issuing and listing the bonds as well as their continued commitment towards deepening the Nigerian capital markets.
Nigeria and other members of the Oganisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as well as the Non-OPEC members have agreed to cut production volumes to ensure global oil market stability.
The agreement was reached at the 35th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting of OPEC held in Vienna, Austria on June 4.
Nigerian delegation was led by Amb.
Gabriel Aduda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who was also confirmed OPEC Governor for Nigeria at the meeting in Vienna.OPEC and its allies have agreed to cut global oil production by 1.
393 million barrels per day, reducing Nigeria’s oil production quota by 20.7 per cent.Aduda said Nigeria, Congo and Angola agreed that the highest production volumes of the last Six months (November 2022 – April 2023) be used as the basis for the determination of their 2024 production quota.
“This is subject to a review in November at the second annual meeting of the JMMC.
“However, the current OPEC quota would be maintained till the end of 2023.
“This implies that Nigeria can ramp up its production up to its current quota of 1742 Thousand Barrels Per Day (KB/D) and subsequently be capped at 10 per cent less as its quota for 2024 subject to verification by independent secondary sources,” he said.
Aduda expressed confidence that the security intervention under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, would enable the restoration of Nigeria’s production to the 1580KB/D crude oil only.
This, he said would be complimented by condensate of about 400KB/D ultimately upping Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production to about Two Million Barrels per day in 2024. (NAN)
Deposit Money Bank (DBMs) and merchant banks borrowing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) increased to N7.5trillion in the first five months of 2023, an increase of 276 per cent from N1.99 trillion reported in the first five months of 2022.
Data from the CBN showed that DMBs and merchant banks borrowing through the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) witnessed significant increase as banks grappled with the fallout from the new naira notes policy in 2022, among other factors.
Analysis of CBN numbers showed that DMBs and merchant banks’ borrowings from the CBN surged by 276 per cent Year on Year (YoY), signalling that they faced a liquidity squeeze during the period as the country’s demonetisation drive triggered chronic cash shortages.
The CBN lends money to DMBs and merchant banks through the SLF at interest rate of 100 basis points above the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR).
Standing facilities (lending and deposit) are instruments of liquidity management, according to the CBN. They serve as avenues to invest surplus funds overnight and to square up whenever the system is short at the end of each business day.
The apex banking regulating body has SLF, a short-term lending window for DMBs and merchant banks to access liquidity to run their day-to-day business operations.
The CBN had on October 26, 2022 announced that the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes would be redesigned and introduced into the economy from December 15, 2022 while DMBs were directed to return existing denominations to the CBN.
The Governor, CBN, Godwin Emefiele at the first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in 2023 had said money market rates oscillated below and within the asymmetric corridor of the standing facilities window, reflecting changing liquidity conditions in the banking system.
“The CBN has been aggressive in its intervention in the first two months of 2023. The CBN’s CRR debit has increased significantly this year when compared to last year. DMBs always visit the SLF window when CBN debit them CRR every two weeks,” Emefiele said.
Meanwhile, analysts attributes the increase in SLF to cash scarcity, stressing that DMBs and merchant banks were no longer enjoying the usual cash deposits that normally come from businesses and individuals that generate significant amount of cash from relationship with various third parties.
AfDB Reiterates Commitment to Support Women-led Enterprises in Africa
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has reiterated its commitment towards supporting women-led enterprises on the continent.
The bank in a statement on its website said it will provide grants to small businesses to ensure this was achieved.
“The AfDB’s Gender Equality Trust Fund (GETF) will provide a 950,000 dollars grant to the Africa Small and Medium Enterprise Business Linkages (SMEBL) Programme in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.
”The grant, which will supplement an earlier 3.9 million dollars financing grant from the Bank’s Transition Support Facility, is expected to bolster 1,400 women-led enterprises.
”It will also contribute to the region’s economic resilience and social cohesion,” it said.
According to the statement, the GETF supports the delivery and scaling of the bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa, (AFAWA) program.
It explained that AFAWA aimed to close the 42 billion dollars gender financing gap for women-led African enterprises by promoting gender-transformative lending and non-lending operations.
The AfDB’s Director for Gender, Women and Civil Society, Malado Kaba, expressed the Bank’s excitement in impacting over a thousand women entrepreneurs across the Sahel region, through this programme.
“We believe one key to building resilient African societies is the inclusion of women in economic development.
”The programme’s wide range of business-related training and coaching, in addition to increasing access to finance will go a long way toward reaching that goal,” she added.
According to Kaba, women entrepreneurs in the Sahel region face significant barriers to accessing finance, markets, and business development services.
She said the Africa SMEBL Programme would provide women entrepreneurs with the tools and resources needed to overcome these barriers and grow their businesses.
”It will also help increase productivity and employment opportunities, especially for young women and men, including offering capacity building in entrepreneurship, core business functions and management training,” she said.
Kaba said the bank’s Gender, Women and Civil Society Department conducted three studies and consulted with Sahel region chambers of commerce to identify women-led businesses to participate in the program.
According to her, AfDB also supports national statistics offices to build more robust, gender-responsive data, which helps measure programme impact.
”The G5 Sahel Union of Chambers of Commerce will administer the programme in collaboration with financial institutions and intermediaries to directly support access to finance for local, small and medium enterprises.
”The Africa (SMEBL) Programme aligns with the AfDB’s 2021-2024 Private Sector Development Strategy, its 2021-2025 Gender Strategy and the 2022-2026 strategy for addressing fragility and building resilience in Africa.
”The Bank Group’s Board of Directors approved the grant on March 23,”Kaba said. (NAN)
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Nigeria recorded N927.16 billion trade surplus between January and March, 2023.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which stated this in its report on foreign trade for the first quarter of 2023, also disclosed that Nigeria’s total exports stood at N6.
49 trillion, and imports at N5. 56 trillion.The NBS report shows that in the quarter under review, the nation’s total trade stood at N12.
05 trillion. This is higher than the value (N7.86 trillion) recorded in the corresponding period (Q1) of 2021.It is also more than the figure recorded in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022 when Nigeria’s trade stood at N11.
72 trillion.“Total exports increased in the first quarter by 2 percent but declined by 8.66 percent when compared to the amount recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022 (N6, 359.61 billion) and the corresponding quarter in 2022 (N7, 102.11 billion) respectively,” the report reads.
“In the same vein, total imports increased by 3.67 percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the value recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022 (N5,362.83 billion) but then again declined by 25.83 percent when compared to the value recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022 (N7,495.67 billion).”
Further examination of the report shows that the majority of imported goods in Q1 2022 originated from China, the Netherlands, Belgium, India, and the United States of America.
NBS said the value of imports from the aforementioned countries amounted to N3.1 trillion, representing a share of 55.78 percent of the total value of imports.
The bureau said the commodities with the largest values of imported products were “motor spirit ordinary, gas oil, and durum wheat”.
Meanwhile, goods worth about N837.65 billion (the most) were exported to the Netherlands.
Other countries where goods were exported to are the United States of America (N579.35 billion), Spain (N488.17 billion), France (N487.34 billion), and India (N456.69 billion).
A trade surplus is an economic indicator of a positive trade balance in which a nation’s exports outweigh its imports.
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