Nigeria’s FMDQ OTC, S&P Dow Jones commence co-branding of indices

FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange and S&P Dow Jones indices, have activated an inaugural co-branded index following an agreement signed in 2017.

The index tagged S&P/FMDQ Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index is the first of its kind between Nigeria’s foremost debt capital, foreign exchange and derivatives over-the-counter securities exchange and the world’s leading provider of financial market indices.

The FMDQ in a statement said the successful transition of the S&P/FMDQ Nigeria sovereign bond index kicks off today July 2nd 2018, while 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.

Alex Matturri, CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices said: “We are pleased to collaborate with FMDQ to create benchmarks for Nigeria’s domestic fixed income markets. This is S&P Dow Jones Indices’ first-ever agreement with an Africa-based securities exchange to offer fixed income indices. The successful transition of the S&P/FMDQ Nigeria sovereign bond index marks the beginning of our joint efforts to establish a more transparent environment for market participants to gain insights into the Nigerian capital markets.”

According to Bola Onadele Koko, managing director/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange,”FMDQ, as part of its “GOLD” (Global Competitiveness, Operational Excellence, Liquid & Diverse) agenda for the Nigerian financial markets, 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.

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