Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has formally listed its N300 billion Series 1 and 2 bonds issued under the Dangote Industries Funding Plc during a grand listing ceremony at both the FMDQ and the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) in Lagos.

Group Managing Director of Dangote Industries Limited, Olakunle Alake, told investors that the bonds were primarily for part-financing the Group’s 650,000 bpd refinery project.

He explained that the decision of the company to issue bonds to raise the required capital for part-financing the refinery project was to encourage the participation of Nigerians in the financing of the project.

Alake noted that following a very rigorous internal assessment, the management concluded that tapping the local capital markets was inevitable, considering the sheer scale of the project being developed, as well as the existing market volatility.

According to him, “Today, we are delighted to have successfully completed the largest aggregate local currency bond issuance by a corporate in the Nigerian capital markets within a calendar year. The proceeds from the Series 1 and 2 bond issuances were dedicated to part-financing the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Project which is the initiative by the Group to establish an Integrated Petrochemical Complex, and the largest Single Train Petroleum Refinery in the World.”

Also speaking at the event, the lead Issuing House for series 1 of the bonds and the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Capital & Advisory Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Yemisi Deji-Bejide, said: “Every time we gather at FMDQ for the listing ceremony of an issuance by the Dangote Group, it is always a record milestone. Early in 2022, we issued a bond for Dangote Cement which was the largest corporate bond issuance at the time, and little did we know that a few months down the line, the Group will comfortably break that record.”

Mrs. Deji-Bejide described the success of the transaction as a strong testament to the fact that investors strongly believe in Dangote Group’s credit story and are willing to continue to support the growth of the business.

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Also, she said it demonstrated the depth of the Nigerian capital markets and resilience, despite all the volatility in the global markets and the macro headwinds.

Meanwhile, at the Nigeria Exchange Limited where the symbolic gong ceremony was held to commemorate the listing, the Group Managing Director for DIL, Alake, who was represented by the DIL Group Chief Finance Officer, Mallam Mustapha Ibrahim thanked the investor community for their support for the transaction.

The Star