DMO to issue N250 billion Sukuk bond to finance road projects

Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) has announced that it will issue about N250 billion Sukuk to finance major road projects across the country.

The agency made this known in a statement released on Tuesday.

“Subsequent to the debut Sovereign Sukuk in 2017 in which N100 billion was raised to finance the rehabilitation and construction of twenty-five (25) road projects across the six (6) geopolitical zones, the DMO issued a Sukuk for N100 billion in 2018 and another for N162.557 billion in 2020,” the statement reads.

“The proceeds of these two (2) Sukuk issuances were also deployed to twenty-eight (28) and forty-four (44) road projects, also in the six (6) geopolitical zones.

“In summary, a total of N362.577 billion Sovereign Sukuk was issued between September 2017 and June 2021.”

The Sukuk is a strategic initiative that supports the development of infrastructure, promotes financial inclusion and deepens the domestic securities market.

Since the establishment of the initiative in September 2017, DMO had issued three Sovereign Sukuk — 2017, 2018 and 2020, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

The DMO said it had appointed transaction parties through an open bidding competitive process with Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited and Vetiva Capital Management Limited as issuing houses, while BURAQ Capital Limited will be the investment analyst. FBNQuest Trustees Limited and APEL Capital & Trust Limited are trustees for the issuance. Abdulai, Taiwo & Co. Solicitors and Tsedaqah Attorneys will act as legal advisers.