Capital market operators have expressed optimisim that the listing of the Federal Government’s N10.69 billion Sovereign Green Bond on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) would place the country as the leading investment destination in Africa.
The capital market operators expressed the hope while reacting to the implications of the Green Bond listing on NSE slated for July 20 in an interview with newsmen last Wednesday in Lagos.
Reports say that Green Bonds are fixed income, liquid financial instruments used to raise funds dedicated to climate mitigation, adaption and other environment-friendly projects.
They provide investors with an attractive investment proposition and an opportunity to support environmentally and socially-sound projects.
The Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd, Malam Garba Kurfi, said the bond’s listing would enrich the nation’s bourse in terms of product diversity and market capitalisation.
Kurfi said Green Bond presents countries with an opportunity to demonstrate national leadership in the green financing agenda.
He added that it would open new investors’ base and strengthen the country’s commitment to complying with the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Kurfi, who commended NSE for the initiative, said that it would help in moderating climate change by investing in solar plants, hydro power and agriculture against the backdrop that 90 per cent of Nigeria’s export income comes from crude oil.
The Chief Operating Officer, InvestData Ltd., Mr Ambrose Omordion, said that the major draw back of the initiative was lack of international standardisation of what constitutes a Green Bond.
Omordion said that there was the need for strong monitoring mechanism worldwide to ensure compliance to the bond’s framework.
“There is no worldwide monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance with the parameters set by frameworks such as the Green Bonds Principles or Climate Bonds Standards.
“There is therefore, need to develop community of local verifiers that will assess whether issuers’ Green Bond meets the requirement of the Climate Bonds Standard,” he said.
