The successful N274.18 billion domestic bond issuance by the Bank of Industry (BOI) is providing fresh evidence of strong institutional appetite for long-term naira assets, while highlighting the growing capacity of Nigeria’s capital market to fund large-scale development finance.
The five-year fixed-rate bond, due in 2031, was initially targeted at N250 billion but was upsized after attracting strong investor demand. The transaction is the largest debt capital markets issuance by a development finance institution in Nigeria, based on publicly available market data.
Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria, which acted as joint issuing house, said the transaction attracted a broad institutional investor base comprising pension fund administrators, banks, insurance companies, asset managers, development finance institutions and other investors.
The scale of demand is notable for Nigeria’s domestic debt market, where the ability to mobilise long-tenor naira capital is increasingly important for institutions financing industrial expansion, enterprise development and infrastructure.
Chidi Iwuchukwu, executive director and head of investment banking, Broader Africa, RMB Nigeria, said the transaction showcased the market’s ability to mobilise long-term capital at scale.
“This transaction demonstrates the ability of Nigeria’s capital markets to mobilise long-term capital at scale,” Iwuchukwu said.
He said BOI’s mandate to support industrialisation, enterprise growth and job creation made access to sustainable funding particularly important, adding that RMB remained focused on developing financing solutions to support economic growth in Nigeria and across Africa.
The issuance also underscores the increasing depth of the domestic investor base, with long-term institutional pools of capital such as pension funds participating alongside banks, insurers and asset managers.
Laju Atake, head of debt capital markets at RMB Nigeria, said the transaction reflected the continued development of Nigeria’s capital markets and the importance of efficient access to long-term funding for leading institutions.
“Over the past nine months, we have advised five distinct issuers on their debut debt capital markets transactions in Nigeria,” Atake said.
She described the BOI issuance as evidence of the continued development of the domestic capital market and its growing ability to support institutions seeking sizeable long-term financing.
The successful upsizing from N250 billion to N274.18 billion effectively adds N24.18 billion to the amount initially targeted, reflecting the strength of demand encountered during the transaction.
The N274.18 billion issuance gives BOI greater funding capacity to deploy long-term finance towards industrialisation, enterprise expansion and job creation.
The transaction also strengthens the development finance institution’s relationship with RMB, which has supported BOI across both domestic and international capital markets.
RMB said the successful bond sale shows that Nigeria’s local capital market can mobilise the scale of long-term naira funding required by institutions driving economic development.
