Following the receipt of Board’s approval on 26th September 2018 to raise additional capital and the receipt of regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission on the 31st of December 2018, North South Power Company Limited (“NSP” or “the Company”) through NSP-SPV PowerCorp Plc, have issued its first N8.5 billion 15 year 15.60% Series 1 Guaranteed Fixed Rate Senior Green Infrastructure Bonds (“Series 1 Green Bonds”), due 2034 under a N50 billion Debt Issuance Programme. The Series 1 Green Bonds is the first certified green corporate bond and the longest tenured (15 year) corporate bond issued in the Nigeria debt capital markets.
The Series 1 Green Bonds was oversubscribed by 60% with firm commitments from twelve (12) institutional investors including nine (9) pension funds, and priced at 70 bps spread to the comparable 15-year sovereign benchmark bond (FGN 2034) using the closing yield on the reference date (04 February 2019) adopted for the book building. The Series 1 Green Bonds was certified by TUV NORD CERT (www.tuv-nord.com), an approved verifier under the Climates Bonds Standard, in conformance with the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA’s) Green Bond Principles, Nigerian Federal Ministry of Environment’s Nigerian Green Bond Guidelines, and the Green Bonds Issuance Rules of the Nigeria Securities & Exchange Commission. The development of the “Green Bond Framework” and the pre-issuance verifications was obtained through technical assistance support from the African Local Currency Bond Fund (www.alcbfund.com), an initiative of KfW Development Bank.
In a statement, the Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of North South Power Company Limited, Engr. (Dr) Olubunmi Peters noted that the success of the bond issuance is a significant milestone in the company’s long-term corporate strategy, demonstrating its market leadership, innovation and commitment to the highest standards of environmental, social and corporate governance.
“With the completion of the Series 1 Guaranteed Green Infrastructure Bonds issuance, the Company has established a long-envisioned link with a more sustainable long-term, local currency financing required to implement its ambitious strategic power generation expansion plan through the capital markets.”