Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria (RMB) has announced plans to float a bond programme expected to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Michael Larbie, Chief Executive Officer, RMB Nigeria and Regional Head West Africa, revealed this at the official launch of the RMB Stock Brokers and bank’s 5th anniversary at the NSE.
He further disclosed that the bond programme is part of the bank’s partnership with the NSE to come out with varieties of investment options that can be listed on the exchange. The bond is already listed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Larbie, while speaking after the event, noted that creating products like derivatives, securities, lending options on stocks would help in deepening the market, increase transaction volume and attract more investment into the market.
Speaking on areas of improving the market to attract more investment, Larbie said, emphasizing on corporate governance, it will further enhance confidence in the market which will attract both domestic and foreign investors to play more in the market.
“You would have seen that since CBN introduced Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Fixing (NAFEX) market, we have seen an increased portfolio investment both in fixed income and equity to the extent that people become convinced that the NAFEX market is here to stay and investors believe that they can leverage the market”
He expressed optimism that the capital market would continue on a consistent growth trajectory, urging investors to leverage opportunities in the Nigerian market for maximum investment returns.
He said:
“In terms of investment, generally, the bank is trying to show that Nigeria investment over time has done fairly well, so I think investors that are looking for long-term decent returns, this is the market to play and that is why as a bank, we continue to invest in Nigeria.
“We would continue to build our business and those foreign direct investment coming in will increment our capital and I think over time we remain optimistic on Nigerian economy.”
The bank had recently received approval from FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange to register its N80 billion commercial paper programme on the FMDQ platform, according to Punch.
The commercial paper was a debut for RMB Nigeria as an issuer in the Nigerian money markets and formed an integral part of the bank’s funding strategy as it provided an avenue to successfully diversify its short-term funding sources, thereby delivering value to its shareholders.
It is also among the selected issuing houses for the planned MTN IPO that is expected to come up later this year.
Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) Nigeria Limited, a member of the FirstRand Group, is a leading African corporate and investment bank and part of one of the largest financial services groups in Africa.
The bank, which offers clients innovative advisory, capital markets, financing and principal investing solutions, has funded various infrastructure, real estate resources, acquisitions and development projects in over 35 African countries in the past decade.
The projects range from ports, dams and energy installations, mines, railways, to factories.
The bank established a representative office in Nigeria in 2010 and opened a fully-fledged merchant bank in early 2013.
In its full year 2017 financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2017, the total comprehensive income for the year stood at N7.9 billion as against N890 million recorded in 2016. While its Profit Before Tax stood at N7.2 billion.
The bank is rated A with a stable outlook by rating agency, Agusto & Co. The rating assigned to the bank reflects its good asset quality, strong capitalisation, and a good liquidity profile.
However, the rating is constrained by weak profitability, low market share as well as the current macroeconomic climate that is expected to adversely impact the performance of the Nigerian banking industry.
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