Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a division of the First Rand Group, recently played a central role in providing new medium-term debt financing in support of Indorama Fertiliser and Chemicals FZE Limited, a key client in Nigeria across the infrastructure sector in Nigeria.

RMB acted as coordinator and lead arranger on the $340 million refinancing, which was recently signed and fully underwritten by development financial institutions and international commercial banks.

This transaction is reflective of RMB’s deep strategic relationship with Indorama Group entities in Nigeria, with the new facility providing a more competitive funding solution in line with the brownfield development of Indorama’s fertiliser operations in Nigeria. In 2025, Indorama FZE achieved its highest-ever urea production at 2.7 million Metric Tonnes with a capacity utilisation of 103 percent.

Speaking on the transaction, Chidi Iwuchukwu, Executive Director and Head, Investment Banking at RMB Nigeria, said, “This financing is a show of RMB’s commitment towards providing strategic advisory while also deploying its cross-border balance sheet towards supporting private sector investment across the heavy industry manufacturing segment of the domestic economy.

This financing is in support of the strong non-oil export growth in Nigeria, where Indorama FZE continues to play as a market-leading player.’’ Indorama FZE, according to statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria, is the largest non-oil exporter in Nigeria with over 18 percent of the market of non-oil exports in 2024. The firm continues to support domestic food production and security by providing up to 75 percent market share in the Nigerian market.

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The subject financing involved multiple institutions and processes towards putting in place a more cost-competitive funding solution which aligns with the clients’ long-term funding objectives. RMB had to deploy extraordinary resources to implement the transaction in a timely fashion alongside other lenders.

Following its Line 3 commissioning in June 2026, Indorama becomes the world’s single largest single-site urea producer. The firm currently possesses fully integrated operations for urea production encompassing its own gas pipelines, Feed Conditioning Units (FCU), Utilities, and dedicated warehousing and jetty infrastructure enabling seamless and continuous operations.

Enyinna Anumudu, Senior Dealmaker and Head of Infrastructure Finance Nigeria, concludes, “RMB is proud to have acted as Lead Arranger and Coordinator for the refinancing at Indorama FZE. By making this financing available for domestic manufacturing and heavy industry investments in Nigeria, we have entrenched the long-term competitiveness of the Nigerian private sector in meeting the domestic and export demand for fertiliser while supporting food sufficiency in the country.”

Chinwe Michael is a financial inclusion advocate and economy journalist who uses compelling storytelling to drive awareness. With a background in Banking and Finance and experience across accounting, media, and education, she applies sharp analysis and attention to detail to every piece. She simplifies complex financial and economy concepts into engaging content for Africa and global audience. Chinwe also doubles as a speaker with global recognition for her expertise.

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