DANGOTE Industries Limited 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.

The Group Managing Director of Dangote Industries Limited, Olakunle Alake, told investors during the listing ceremony 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.

He noted that the bonds remained the largest aggregate local currency bond issuance within a calendar year by any corporate organization in the history of the capital markets.

Alake said 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.

He said  while the Dangote Group was not new at raising funds in the local capital markets, being a first-time issuer at the holding company level presented a fresh challenge for the company, but noted, however, that the challenge was one the management was willing to embrace to ensure the desired outcome was achieved.

“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,” he said.

Alake recalled that the company recorded another first through the N187 billion series 1 bonds (under the N300 billion programme), being the largest corporate bond ever issued in the history of the Nigerian capital markets.