African Export-Import Bank, (AFREXIM) has disclosed plans to to support Nigeria and some other African countries with $25bn within the next three years.

The President, AFREXIM, Dr Benedict Oranma, made this known to the journalists during the African Export-Import Bank Annual Meetings in Abuja.

According to him, following the move by the continent to implement the African Continent Free Trade Agreement, the bank would invest more in order to promote trade and investment on the continent and support more businesses to grow.

The African Continent Free Trade Agreement is expected to increase intra-African trade by 52.3 per cent from the current 19 per cent.

Already, 44 out of the 55 African countries had endorsed the agreement which would enable them to form a $3tn continental free-trade zone, encompassing 1.2 billion people.

The CFTA identifies seven priority action clusters for its implementation. They are trade policy, trade facilitation, productive capacity, trade-related infrastructure, trade finance, trade information, and factor market integration.

He said, “This seminar is organised as part of a comprehensive suite of interventions AFREXIM Bank has in place in support of the AfCFTA and intra-African trade, including a strategy to disburse $25bn in support of intra-African trade by the end of 2021.

He also said the bank was putting measures in place to facilitate trade by finalising the African payment settlement system.

This, he noted, would provide a clearing platform for payment system in the region, adding that currently, all the 55 African countries had signed a treaty for the bank to implement this payment system.

DMO Lists N10.69bn FGN Sovereign Green Bond on NSE
From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is pleased to announce the listing of the N10.69billion, 5-year, Federal Government Sovereign Green Bond at coupon rate of 13.48% on the Exchnage by Debt Management Office (DMO) on Friday, July 20, 2018. On the same day, the NSE also held a pre-listing conference for market participants, themed, ‘Exploring the Green Financing Opportunity: Green Bonds and Enabling Frameworks’ to highlight the opportunities available within the Green Bond market in Nigeria.
The event had in attendance about 200 market operators, government officials, c-level executives, as well as top officials from the academic and sustainability sector. The event was headlined by Ms. Pat Oniha, DG, DMO, Hon. Ibrahim Usman Jibril, the Honourable Minister of State for Environment, and Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary General, represented by Mr. Edward Kallon, UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative.

The Sovereign Green Bond is part of a strategic process by the Federal Government to add to the nation’s funding options to catalyse the rebound of the economy and offer the vast majority of Nigerians, a new alternative. The listing of this Sovereign Green Bond, which is the country’s first ever certified green bond and the first in an emerging market, is a testament to NSE’s continued vision of pushing green finance and more broadly, the sustainable development agenda in Nigeria.
Commenting on the listing, the Chief Executive Officer of The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema OON said, “Admitting the first ever sovereign green bond in an emerging market is yet another milestone for the Exchange and is a further affirmation of our unique platform to support both the Federal Government and businesses to access capital for sustainable initiatives. The listing of the FGN Green Bond represents a new stage in the development of Nigerian capital markets and opens the way for further corporate issuance and international investments. As a member of the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative, we are committed to developing this enormous opportunity for Nigeria.”
In her statement during the listing ceremony, the Director General of DMO, Mrs. Patience Oniha, stated that, “The Green Bond Listing is an opportunity to enable Nigeria tap into the growing global market for green bonds, which as of end of 2016 comprised of $576billion of unlabeled climate-aligned bonds and $118billion of labelled green bonds according to Climate Bonds Initiative in London. The DMO is proud to list the N10.69 billion FGN Green Bond 2022 on the NSE and expects that trading this instrument will not only bring about Climate Change Awareness but will also diversify the Nigerian Capital Market and attract more investors”.
According to the Honourable Minister of State for Environment, Hon. Ibrahim Usman Jibril, “The Sovereign Green Bond further reinforces Nigeria’s reemergence as a major player in the international climate regime, and President Muhammadu Buhari’s strides in moving Nigeria towards being a low-carbon economy. The issuance of a Green Bond by Nigeria delivers on program 47 of its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), in addition to meeting the expectations set out in Article 2 of the Paris Agreement. This places progress on the NDCs targets in sight and lays the foundation for the expansion of the Federal Government’s Green Bond Issuance Program on a recurring basis.”