By Omobayo Azeez
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has successfully listed the N5 billion three-year bond of FBNQuest Merchant Bank on the domestic bourse.
This was in fulfilment of its promise to continue to provide stakeholders with access to capital even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Exchange further amplified this through the listing of the N5 billion three-year 10.50 per cent bond which was commemorated with a digital closing gong ceremony on Friday, 15 May 2020.
Commenting on the listing, Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer (CEO) of the NSE, said, “We welcome FBNQuest Merchant Bank’s debut listing of its N5 billion Series 1 Bond on the exchange, as we continue to support the bank in meeting its capital raising needs and business objectives. We also commend all the parties to the transaction.
“At the NSE, we are committed to giving issuers and investors a platform to access right-sized capital even in the toughest of times as well as providing opportunities for secondary market trading activities across multiple asset classes – equities, bonds, ETFs. Today, FBNQuest Merchant Bank is a beneficiary of this and we are pleased to welcome them,” he said,
Speaking on the transaction, Kayode Akinkugbe, managing director and CEO of FBNQuest, expressed the pleasure of the company to announce the listing of the FBNQuest MB Funding SPV Plc Bond on The Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The listing marked the first of such appearance for the investment bank, and according to Akinkungbe, the success recorded attests to the degree of confidence investors have in the business.
“As a full-service investment bank and asset manager, we advised on the bond issuance and structure, and also leveraged our extensive distribution capability to ensure the success of the transaction,” he said.
FBNQuest Merchant Bank was the second organization honoured with a digital closing gong following the maiden edition earlier held in April for Sterling Bank.
The NSE digital closing gong ceremony attests to the resilience of the NSE’s technology platforms which have supported dealing members in trading remotely without incident via electronic platforms.
It should also be recalled that over the past weeks, NSE has listed Flour Mills’ N12.5 billion three-year and N7.5 billion five-year Bonds; Primero BRT Securitisation SPV Plc Bond worth N16.5 billion; and several government bonds worth over N160 billion.
