18 March 2015, Lagos – he Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has said that a total of 22 new issues worth N549.53 billion were recorded in the capital market in the last quarter, Q4 of 2014. This, according to the commission’s fourth quarter report and review of activities in the nation’s capital market from October to December, 2014, comprised equity and debt instruments.
This represents an increase of 5.79 percent and 59.03 percent in volume and value terms respectively when compared to a total of 19 new equity and debt issues valued at N345.56 billion recorded in third quarter of the same year. The report further indicated that out of a total number of nine new equity issues approved by the commission during the quarter under review, six were rights issues, one special placement, one offer for subscription, and one debt to equity conversion.
In total, the value of new equity issues approved by the commission in the fourth quarter of the year stood at N192.42 billion, while seven new equity issues comprising two rights issues, three private placements, one debt to equity conversion, and one Initial Public Offering, IPO were approved by the commission in the third quarter of 2014 and were jointly worth N77.86 billion.
When both periods of the year were compared, the number and value of new equity issues approved by the commission in the fourth quarter of 2014 increased by 28.57 percent and 147.15 percent respectively. Also, the debt market witnessed the allotment of nine FGN bonds jointly worth N182.11 billion. Also, two corporate bonds jointly worth N145 billion and two sub-national bonds jointly worth N30 billion were approved by the Commission, totaling 13 debt instruments valued at N357.11 billion in Q4, 2014.
On the other hand, a total of 12 debt instruments consisting of nine Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN bonds and three corporate bonds jointly valued at N267.70 billion were issued in the previous quarter, representing an increase of 8.33 percent and 33.40 percent in the number and value of debt instruments issued respectively. The fourth quarter of 2014 witnessed the issuance of a total of nine bonds, which indicates a continuation of the positive trend recorded since the first quarter of the year.
– Vanguard
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