Lagos Free Zone Issues N17.5bn 20-year Bond
The Lagos Free Zone Company has announced the issuance of N17.5bn 20-year corporate infrastructure bond which is the third issuance under an upsized N61bn bond issuance programme.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the LFZ stated that the Series 3 Senior Guaranteed Fixed Rate infrastructure bond was due in 2043.
According to the LFZC, the bond issuance was backed by an irrevocable and unconditional guarantee from InfraCredit and accorded a “AAA” long-term credit rating by Agusto and Co. and GCR.
The offer was oversubscribed with participation from institutional investors including 10 domestic pension funds and an insurance company.
The transaction was the third 20-year non-FGN bond issue in the Nigerian debt capital markets.
Speaking on the transaction, the Chief Finance Officer of LFZC, Ashish Khemka said, “This is our third successful bond issuance at LFZC and it is a testament to the capacity of the Nigerian debt market as a veritable source of domestic capital for infrastructural development in Nigeria.
“The impressive participation and pricing of this bond issuance by the domestic institutional investors further strengthens our commitment to realise our vision and thereby enhance Nigeria’s competitive positioning with our continuous focus on Ease of Doing Business parameters.
“LFZC further underscores Nigeria as a compelling industrial hub within the West African coast and ideally orients itself in anticipation of the imminent single market regime under AfCFTA.
It added, “We are particularly excited by the improved
confidence demonstrated by pension fund managers and other institutional investors at this milestone issue and we appreciate the team at InfraCredit, Stanbic IBTC Capital and other parties to the transaction for this novel structure, which helps to de-risk the transaction and aligns the interest of different stakeholders.”
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of InfraCredit, Chinua Azubike, stated that economic zones like LFZC helped to boost the economy.
