Exchange eyes increased savings bonds to boost participation

In line with its mandate to promote investor participation in Nigeria’s capital market, and enhance the secondary market, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), in collaboration with Afrinvest, is set to host market stakeholders in a virtual workshop on FGN savings bonds.

The event, slated for May 25, is aimed at bringing retail investors, trading license holders and regulators in the Nigerian capital market under a common forum to create awareness of the FGN savings bond product and enhance participation and liquidity of FGN bonds in the secondary market.

The bond webinar is also expected to deepen the savings culture among retail investors, reduce the barrier to contributing to national development for all Nigerians irrespective of income level, provide insights that will enable participants to benefit from the favourable returns available in the capital market and improve the liquidity of the bond in the secondary market.

DMO, on behalf of the Federal government, had launched a retail investment programme ‘Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bond’ to help enhance the savings culture among Nigerians while providing all citizens irrespective of income level, an opportunity to contribute to national development; as well as the comparatively favourable returns available in the capital market.

According to NGX, the FGN savings bond is safe and backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government of Nigeria, with quarterly coupon payments to bondholders.

NGX recorded N11.23 billion in FFN bond listings which constituted FGN savings bonds with maturities ranging between 2024 and 2026. Lagos State Government issued the only bond by a sub-sovereign entity with its N137.33 billion series 1V, 10-year 13 per cent, Fixed Rate Bonds due 2031 under its N500 billion debt issuance programme.

The corporate bond segment recorded N112.4 billion senior unsecured bond listing from Dangote Industries Funding Plc and N31.36 billion in Sukuk Issuances from Taj Bank and Family Homes under their respective Sukuk Issuance programmes.

The exchange stated further that Meristem Stockbrokers Limited topped the chart of the fixed income transactions in the first quarter of 2023 by value as they accounted for 16 per cent of the total value of trades with N143.7 million in trades.