The Bank of Industry (BOI) has attributed the successful oversubscription of its N250 billion Series 1 Fixed Rate Bond within five working days to executive support and incentives approved by President Bola Tinubu.

The bank said the strong investor response signals rising confidence in BOI and Nigeria’s domestic capital market, particularly its ability to mobilise long-term funding for productive areas of the economy.

The bond was issued through BOI Financing SPV Plc under the bank’s $1 billion Multi-Currency Instruments Programme.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed the development in a statement titled, ‘Bank of Industry Lauds President Tinubu over N250bn Series 1 Bond Oversubscription.’

BOI Chief Executive Officer, Olasupo Olusi, said the level of investor interest recorded within five working days would not have been possible without incentives approved by the President to encourage participation.

“The strength of the investor response is a vote of confidence not only in BOI, but also in the capacity of Nigeria’s domestic capital market to mobilise long-term capital for productive investment,” Olusi said.

According to Olusi, the President’s executive approval of the incentives provided leverage for the transaction and delivered a positive signal to investors.

“As a Development Finance Institution, we could not have received the strong investor demand for the bond in five working days without the support of President Tinubu, who gave his executive approval for various incentives to encourage investors,” he said.

Olusi further disclosed that the President had approved a separate N100 billion fund to blend the bond’s pricing and lessen the effect of high interest rates on manufacturers and other BOI customers.

He said the intervention would enhance BOI’s capacity to finance businesses and support investment across Nigeria’s productive sectors.

The BOI chief executive described the support as additional evidence of the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding Nigeria’s productive capacity.

He said the wider purpose of the bond transaction was to turn investor confidence into greater access to long-term financing for Nigerian businesses, with potential gains for industrial expansion, job creation, local value chains and economic competitiveness.

BOI said the transaction represents a major expansion of its funding structure, building on its established participation in international capital markets while increasing the mobilisation of long-term domestic capital from institutional investors.

The bank added that the successful transaction demonstrates the increasing ability of Nigeria’s domestic capital market to direct institutional savings towards productive investments.

According to BOI, proceeds from the bond will expand its ability to provide long-term financing to eligible businesses operating in priority sectors.

The funding is expected to support investment in productive capacity, local value addition, employment creation and economic diversification.

However, BOI and its transaction advisers said final subscription and allotment figures would not be disclosed at this stage, as the final allotment remains subject to approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The transaction is continuing towards completion.

BOI said the immediate importance of the bond lies in the strength of investor demand, the pricing achieved and the diversity of the investor base.

The bank noted that these factors point to sustained institutional appetite for high-quality, long-term domestic assets.

The successful issuance represents another milestone in the development of Nigeria’s domestic market for long-term development capital and further reinforces BOI’s position as a credible and repeat issuer in the Nigerian capital market.

Source: MSME Africa Online