FMDQ, S&P Dow Jones partner on Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index formation

FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange the foremost debt capital, foreign exchange and derivatives over-the-counter securities exchange in Nigeria, has announced that signing of a cooperation agreement to create and launch co-branded fixed income indices with S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”), the world’s leading provider of financial market indices, had created Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index

According to a statement by the company, “FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange and S&P Dow Jones Indices had in 2017 announced the signing of a cooperation agreement to create and launch co-branded fixed income indices.

“Today, the successful transition of the S&P/FMDQ Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index marks the activation of the inaugural co-branded index under the agreement.

A range of other S&P/FMDQ Fixed Income indices will be developed under the agreement.

“The S&P/FMDQ Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index, formerly branded as S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index, tracks the performance of local currency denominated sovereign debt publicly issued by the government of Nigeria in its domestic market.”

The Chief Executive Officer of S&P Dow Jones Indices, Alex Matturri said: “We are pleased to collaborate with FMDQ to create benchmarks for Nigeria’s domestic fixed income markets.

He said the successful transition of the S&P/FMDQ Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index marks the beginning of the joint efforts to establish a more transparent environment for market participants to gain insights into the Nigerian capital markets.

He added that the indices is S&P Dow Jones Indices’ first- ever agreement with an Africa-based securities exchange to offer fixed income indices.

The Managing Director/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Bola Onadele explained that as part of its ‘GOLD ‘ (Global Competitiveness, Operational Excellence, Liquid & Diverse) agenda for the Nigerian financial markets, the exchange is committed to developing and increasing the market accessibility for all stakeholders including the investors.

“We are delighted to collaborate with S&P Dow Jones Indices to further deepen the markets through these index-based solutions and measures.

As we see more domestic and global demand, for diverse and innovative investment products.

“The S&P/FMDQ index family will critically serve to raise the global exposure of the Nigeria fixed income assets and represent an opportunity to increase trading flows to the Nigerian financial markets.”