By Henry Uche
Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries and nine other industry leading Nigerian companies have raised a sum of N478.4 billion through Commercial Paper issuances between January and September 2020. Newsletter from Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) has revealed.
Acccording to information sourced from all the major bond listings published during the year and also contained in the Nairametrics Deals Book, a compendium of various deals carried out within the Nigerian corporate space , stated that the year 2020 has been a precarious year for the economy due to the dual effects of Covid-19 and the crash in oil prices.
Dangote Cement- Africa’s largest cement manufacturer and the most capitalized company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, issued series 15 and 16 of its commercial paper in May 2020 and another series 17 and 18 in September 2020, summing up to N150 billion. Series 15 and 16 had a tenor of 175 days and 266 days with a respective yield of 5 per cent and 6 per cent, while the issued amount was N34 billion and N66 billion under its N150 billion commercial paper issuance programme.
Series 17 had a tenor of 177 days and an implied yield of 4 per cent, while series 18 had a tenor of 268 days with a 5 per cent implied yield. They have a maturity date of 4th March 2021 and 3rd June 2021 respectively. According to the cement giant, the capital raised was aimed at funding short-term working capital requirements, as well as general corporate purposes.
