Economy
THE African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, says it has a robust portfolio in the financial sector of Nigeria with a total commitment valued at 1.32 billion dollars.
Mr Lamin Barrow, the Director-General (D-G), Nigeria Country Department of AfDB, said this in Abuja on Monday at the signing of a 460,000 dollars agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Barrow said the figure represented 30 per cent of the Bank’s portfolio.
He said the bulk of the interventions were in the form of lines of credit to financial institutions which included a 10 million dollar financing package for Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Limited (infraCredit).
Barrow said the move was geared toward supporting the development of the corporate bond market.
The director-general said the support for the bond market was particularly for infrastructure development and to mitigate currency risks.
According to him, the Bank is also supporting Nigeria’s Infrastructure Debt Fund through a 10 million dollar facility that provides long-term local currency debt financing.
”The objective is to crowd-in local pension funds and other institutional investors for infrastructure development in Nigeria.
”The pandemic has reinforced global risk aversion, prompting international investors to move their portfolios into safer assets and havens.
”It is our desire to see growth of the equity market well beyond the current N28.16 trillion.
”That is why the AfDB Group is supporting initiatives to integrate capital markets in Africa and innovative financial instruments.
”This has become even more urgent with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) being operational.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that AfDB and SEC signed the agreement to support the acquisition and deployment of automated surveillance system in the capital market.
The automated market surveillance system would enhance the SEC’s role in investor protection and ensure a transparent, fair and orderly market to reduce systemic risks. (NAN)
KN
Tags: AfDB infraCredit Lamin Barrow
