IBTC, Chapel-Hill, FBNQuest, FCMB, UCML top as FMDQ attracts N801.6bn CPs, N299.45bn bonds

By Charles Abuede

Nigeria’s financial market powerhouse, FMDQ Securities Exchange, attracted quotations worth N801.6 billion in commercial papers (CPs) and saw the listing of N299.45 billion worth of bonds in 2020, contributing to the broadening of the capital market, as well as attracting significant demand from a wider range of investors, an activities’ report from the Exchange, accessed by Business A.M., has revealed.

Bonds and CPs listing on Nigeria’s over-the-counter (OTC) securities exchange platform shows the confidence of the companies in Nigeria’s debt capital market. It is also helping to further broaden capital sources for the companies by enabling them access funds from the local debt capital markets while also reducing the overall cost of funding. However, these listings came despite the pandemic, which disrupted activities in the financial markets during the year under review.

Bonds and CPs value and their sponsors

The activities’ report shows that in 2020, a total of sixty-seven commercial papers (CPs) worth a face value of N801.60 billion and thirteen bonds worth N299.45 billion in face value were listed and quoted on the FMDQ exchange.

Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited was the most active sponsor during the year, contributing N672.09 billion which comprise of N141.50 billion in bond listings and N530.59 billion in CP quotations to the FMDQ Exchange fixed income platform from a combined 672 listings in bonds and CPs.

Also, Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited maintained a second place on the table with N261.56 billion worth N123.75 billion in bond listings and N137.81 billion Commercial Paper quotations from a combined 262 total bonds and CPs in its full-year market participation. Sitting third on the log was FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited having sponsored N186.94 billion in CP quotations and N11.20 billion in bond listings from a total 198 in listings and quotations.

In fourth position for the year was FCMB Capital Markets Limited with a total of N149 billion, all of which was in CPs, while fifth was UCML Capital with a total of N70 billion, made up of N50 billion in CPs and N20 billion in bonds.

Other sponsors, according to the FMDQ activities’ report and standings on the participation log, include United Capital Plc (N53 billion), FSDH Merchant Bank (N49 billion), EAC Advisory Limited (N48 billion), Standard Chartered Capital Market and Advisory (N40 billion), Union Capital Markets (N38 billion), Coronation Merchant Bank (N38 billion), Renaissance Securities Nigeria (N29 billion), Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria (N29 billion), Greenwich Trust (N10 billion), Absa Capital Markets Nigeria (N10 billion), CardinalStone Partners (N5 billion), CitiBank Nigeria (N5 billion) and Cordros Capital with N3 billion listings during the full year 2020.

Meanwhile, as of December 2020, thirty-eight institutions were registered with FMDQ under the registered member listing (RML) and thirty-nine institutions registered with the Exchange under registered member quotations (RMQ) categories, respectively.

And in the FMDQ Exchange fixed income primary markets, only eighteen RMs participated in the listings and quotations of these securities. Nine RMs participated solely in the CP market; two participated in the bonds market alone while seven RMs participated in both the bond and CP markets. However, the FMDQ report highlighted the RMs that sponsored the listings and quotations of fixed income securities (i.e. bonds and commercial papers) respectively for Full Year 2020.