Nigeria’s debt office announced on Tuesday that a sovereign Sukuk would be issued before the end of the year to finance critical road projects across the country.
A Sukuk is an investment certificate that represents a holder’s ownership interest in an asset or pool of assets. The certificate allows the holder to receive income from the use of the assets.
The Debt Management Office (DMO), in a statement, said it expects a high subscription level for the Sukuk when the offer for the N200-N250 billion sovereign Sukuk opens.
It began issuing Sukuk in September 2017 as part of a strategic initiative to support infrastructure development, promote financial inclusion, and deepen the domestic securities market.
Following the debut of the Sovereign Sukuk in 2017, in which N100 billion was raised to finance 25 road projects in six geopolitical zones, the DMO issued another Sukuk for N100 billion in 2018 and another for N162.557 billion in 2020.
These proceeds were also utilized to finance 28 and 44 road projects, also in the six geopolitical zones. Between September 2017 and June 2021, a total of N362.577 billion in Sovereign Sukuk was issued.
The DMO has already appointed Transaction Parties pursuant to the Open Competitive Bidding Process for issuance of the fourth sovereign Sukuk.
Issuing Houses are Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited and Vetiva Capital Management Limited. The Financial Adviser is BURAQ Capital Limited; while the Trustees are; FBNQuest Trustees Limited and APEL Capital & Trust Limited.
The project’s Legal Advisers are Abdulai, Taiwo & Co Solicitors and Tsedaqah Attorneys.
