Ecobank Joins League Of Nigerian Companies On London Stock Exchange

The Oldest regulated stock exchange in the world has welcomed Ecobank Nigeria on Thursday via a virtual ceremony to mark the listing.

Ecobank Nigeria, a subsidiary of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated got listed after a five year fixed rate senior unsecured US$300 million bonds.

The successful launch was three times oversubscribed and is the lowest coupon/yield by a Nigerian financial institution for a benchmark bond transaction since 2013.

It has an Issuer Rating of B- from Fitch Rating Agency and S & P. Citi, Mashreq, Renaissance Capital and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners.

The proceeds will provide medium-term funding and help to enhance the capacity of the Bank to support international trade and service across Africa.

Patrick Akinwuntan, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, said: “The strong demand for our bond shows the international appetite for the Ecobank franchise in Nigeria, its unique positioning for facilitating pan-Africa trade and the attractive opportunity for the many investors seeking to back world-class Nigerian corporates.”

Ecobank joins other Nigerian banks like Guarantee Trust Bank Ltd and Diamond Bank (Now Access bank) who have chosen to seek refuge in the London Stock Exchange due to the unstable nature of Nigeria's economy. 

Proshare Nigeria already predicted in one of her report that More Nigerian company will seek refuge in the London Stock Exchange.

Seplat was the first Nigeria company to join London Stock Exchange in April 2014 and since then London Stock Exchange has 30 African Sovereign bonds from countries including Nigeria, Angola, Egypt and Kenya and has raised $35.8 billion.