FMDQ Exchange Lists BUA Cement Plc’s N115bn Bond
FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited has admitted BUA Cement Plc’s N115 billion Series 1 Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Bond under its N200 billion Bond Issuance Programme for listing.
This issuance, a first by BUA Cement Plc becomes the largest corporate bond issued in the Nigerian debt capital markets (DCM).
The proceeds from the issuance, according to the company, will be used to refinance existing debt obligations of the issuer, finance the issuer’s working capital as well as fund its Debt Service Reserve Account.
BUA Cement is the second largest cement producer in Nigeria and the largest cement producer in the North-west region of the country.
Nigeria, nine others have a lower survival rate for critical COVID-19 patients
A study published yesterday, in The Lancet medical journal, offered reasons why Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria and South Africa have higher death rate among critically ill COVID-19 patients than any other regions of the world.
According to the observational survey from 64 hospitals in 10 African countries, death rates among adults in the 30 days after being admitted to critical care with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infections appeared considerably higher in Africa (average 48.2 per cent; 1,483/3,077 patients) than the global (average of 31.5 per cent; from a meta-analysis of 34,859 patients).
The researchers, who are all based on the continent, said a critical factor in these excess deaths might be a lack of intensive care resources and underuse of those available. For example, half of the patients died without being given oxygen, while 68 per cent of hospitals had access to renal dialysis, as only 10 per cent of severely ill patients received it.
Read Also: FMDQ Exchange welcomes BUA Cement’s N115bn bond, largest in Nigerian debt market
Estimates suggest that the provision of dialysis was seven times less, even as availability of oxygenated blood (ECMO) was 14 times lower than required to adequately treat COVID-19 patients.
COVID-19: Nigeria declares 90 travellers as ‘health hazards’
The Nigerian government has publicly declared a total of 90 travellers who recently visited or arrived from India, Brazil and Turkey, as potential health hazards to the society and seek their whereabouts.
A statement issued on Sunday night by the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 and signed by its Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said the identified individuals failed to observe the newly instituted mandatory protocols recently put in place against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the statement, the list, which contains a total of 27 Indians and 63 Nigerians, arrived in Nigeria through the Muritala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the PSC, while the affected airlines are Ethiopian airline and Qatar airways, the 27 Indian violators were categorised as unregistered.
The statement gave the dates of their arrival to be between May 8 and 15, noting that they “evaded the mandatory seven-day quarantine for persons arriving from restricted countries.”
NNPC: 52m Crude Oil Barrels Lost to OPEC Cuts
Nigeria lost at least 52 million barrels of crude oil between May and December 2020 to COVID-19-induced compulsory supply cuts imposed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), according to data by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Low-Interest Regime Driving Activities in Corporate Debt Market
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) restrictive monetary policy enabled corporate organisations to raise N1.02 trillion from the local currency debt market in 2020.
The figure borrowed in 2020 represented 52.4 per cent increase when compared to 2019 level of N669 billion.
The GCR Ratings Research latest report on Nigeria’s capital markets stated that issuance of corporate debt spiked as firms took advantage of the lowered monetary rates to either refinance expensive bilateral loans with banks or raise additional debts.
The report projected that the trend would continue in 2021, as more corporate debt issuance was expected over the year.
Among the companies that took advantage of the low valuation to raise funds, according to the GCR report, were Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (EPIL), the MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and the Dangote Cement Plc.
