- As FG Launches Pre-offer Roadshow
By Nse Anthony-Uko
(Sundiata Finance) – Nigeria will finally make its N100 billion Sukuk bond debut on September 18, 2017, to enable it raise money for infrastructure funding, Debt Management Office (DMO) officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The debut Sovereign Sukuk is for N100 billion with a tenor of seven years, and has been certified as ethically compliant by the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The DMO also announced that it had kicked off activities preparatory to the issuance of the much awaited Sukuk, beginning with a national road-show on Thursday, to be led by its director-general, Patience Oniha. The team will be accompanied by its financial advisers, Lotus Capital Financial Services Limited and FBN Merchant Bank Plc.
The team is expected to visit major cities in Nigeria, including, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos and Port Harcourt during the road-show to create awareness about the Sovereign Sukuk and sensitise target investors about the features and benefits of the Sovereign Sukuk.
According to the DMO, the offer for subscription, which is expected to opens on September 18, will be on for five days till September 22, following advertisements in major newspapers. The road show will end on September 14.
“It is expected that the Sukuk will attract huge subscriptions from a wide range of institutional and retail investors including Fund Managers, associations and groups,” the debt office said in a mailed statement on Wednesday.
Nigeria’s Federal Government is implementing a record N7.441 trillion budget for 2017 to turn the ailing economy to recovery and growth, amid tight incomes. Total revenue for the 2017 fiscal year was projected at N5.08 trillion, resulting to a projected overall deficit of N2.356 trillion, and representing 2.18 per cent of GDP. The budget deficit is to be financed mainly be borrowing N2.32 trillion, out of which government hopes to source N1.25 trillion domestically and N1.07 trillion from foreign sources.
