NGX eyes increased savings bonds subscriptions, to organise webinar

By Chioma Obinagwam

In line with its mandate to promote investor participation in Nigeria’s capital market, enhance secondary market, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) in collaboration with Afrinvest is set to host market stakeholders to a virtual workshop on FGN Savings Bond.

The virtual event holding on Thursday, May 25, is aimed at bringing retail investors, trading license holders and regulators in the Nigerian capital market under a common forum to create awareness on the FGN Savings Bond product, enhance participation and liquidity of FGN Bonds in the Secondary Market.

It will feature leading capital markets experts including the Director, Market Development at the Debt Management Office (DMO), Monday Usiade, Chief Executive Officer, CSL Stockbrokers, Biodun Fagbulu, Managing Director, Optimus by Afrinvest, Ayodeji Ebo and Jude Chiemeka, Divisional Head, Capital Markets, NGX. Also, Kalu Aja, financial planner and finance influencer will be moderating the scheduled panel session. Interested participants in the webinar can register here https://bit.ly/ngx_savbnd.

The NGX Savings Bond webinar is expected to deepen the savings culture among retail investors; reduce the barrier to contributing to National development for all Nigerians irrespective of income level; provide insights that will enable participants benefit from the favourable returns available in the capital market; and improve liquidity of FGN Savings Bond in the Secondary market.

It will be recalled that the DMO, on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, launched a retail investment programme – the “Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bond” –to help enhance the savings culture among Nigerians while providing all citizens irrespective of income level, an opportunity to contribute to National Development; as well as the comparatively​ favourable returns available in the capital market.

FGN Savings Bond is safe and backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government of Nigeria, with quarterly coupon payments to bondholders.

According to a recent report, NGX saw N11.23 billion in Federal Government of Nigeria bond listings which constituted FGN Savings Bonds with maturities ranging between 2024 and 2026.

Lagos State Government issued the only bond by a sub-sovereign entity with its N137.33 billion series 1V, 10-year 13 per cent, Fixed Rate Bonds due 2031 under its N500 billion debt issuance program.

The corporate bond segment recorded N112.42 billion senior unsecured bond listing from Dangote Industries Funding Plc and N31.36 billion in Sukuk Issuances from Taj Bank and Family Homes under their respective Sukuk Issuance programmes.

In the first quarter of 2023, Meristem Stockbrokers Limited topped the chart of the fixed income transactions by value as they occupied 16% of total value of trades with N143.71m in trades. Others in the top five were Arthur Stevens Asset Management (N132.91m), APT Securities (86.94m), SMADAC Securities (82.21m) and Apel Asset Ltd (59.15m).