By Ndubuisi Francis
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has disclosed that the third Sovereign Sukuk for which it recently offered N150 billion to investors posted a very impressive level of performance, with total subscriptions of N669.124 billion.
This represents a subscription level of 446 per cent of the offer, proceeds of which would be used to finance 44 road projects across the nation’s six geo-political zones.
The impressive demand for the Sukuk came from a wide range of investors, including ethical funds, insurance companies, fund managers and retail investors, among others.
The DMO, in a statement said the participation by a wide range of investors is in line with its objectives of diversifying the investor base for government securities and promoting financial inclusion.
The issuance of the third Sovereign Sukuk, which followed the debut issuance of N100 billion in September 2017 and a second issuance of another N100 billion in December 2018, is based on the DMO’s commitment to using borrowed funds to finance infrastructure.
Sukuk issuances are project-tied and are used to finance specific infrastructure which are disclosed to investors.
The DMO disclosed that following the subscriptions, it allotted N162.557 billion to investors in the third Sovereign Sukuk.
The proceeds of the issuance would be used to finance 44 critical road projects across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
“The benefits from the earlier Sukuk issuances, which were also used to finance roads, include improved safety on the roads, faster travel times, access to markets for farm produce and opening up parts of the country for development.
“Other important benefits of using Sukuk to finance road projects are job creation and increased level of activity for service providers, many of whom are small businesses.
“The DMO expects to continue to raise funds through Sukuk to support improvement in infrastructure and development of the domestic capital market,” the statement added.
