The Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday listed the N6.295billion Series 1:7-Year 18.50 per cent Fixed Rate Bond Due (2023) under the N50 billion Wema Funding SPV Plc Debt Issuance Programme.
Speaking on the listing, Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Oscar Onyema, said: “We are pleased to be listing the Wema Fund SPV Plc bond, a further affirmation of our unique platform to help businesses access capital. Despite the challenging macro environment, this bold step by Wema Bank is indeed commendable as only businesses that continue to execute on their strategy will be at a vantage position to benefit when the economy rebounds” Speaking in the same vein, Managing Director of Wema Bank, Segun Oloketuyi said the bank’s turnaround plan which began in 2009 is now in its growth phase, hence the raising of tier II capital to ensure availability of long-term capital to support growth.
“We remain committed to our growth plans and to constantly upgrading our services to give our customers a delightful banking experience,” he said.
Oloketuyi highlighted the importance of listing Wema SPV bond on the NSE platform, saying “The NSE provides a unique platform which enhances the liquidity of bonds traded on it. Thus, bondholders can easily monitor the value of their investments.”
Meanwhile, the bullish sentiment at the stock market was sustained yesterday as the NSE All-Share Index appreciated by 1.29 per cent to close at 26,407.64, while market capitalisation ended higher at N9.09 trillion. The appreciation recorded in the share prices of Forte Oil, Seplat, Access Bank, Dangote Cement and GTBank were responsible for the gain recorded in the NSE ASI.
The total value of stocks traded was N4.28 billion, up by 77.4 per cent from N2.41 billion recorded the previous day, while total volume of stocks traded was 205.40 million in 3,275 deals. The most actively traded sectors were: Financial Services (159.87 million), Consumer Goods (25.34 million) and Conglomerates (8.10 million).The three most actively traded stocks were: UBA (54.69 million shares), Diamond Bank (22 million shares) and Zenith Bank (21.18 million shares).
All sector indices closed in the green except for the NSE Consumer Goods Index which lost on due to declines in Nigerian Breweries (-2.5 per cent) and Champion Breweries Plc (-4.2 per cent). The NSE Oil & Gas Index led with 4.4 per cent, while the NSE Banking Index followed with 2.3 per cent.
