DMO: FG planning another Green bond to finance 2018 budget

The Debt Management Office (DMO) says the federal government will issue another Green bond to finance capital projects in the 2018 budget.

Patience Oniha, DMO director general made this known on Friday while speaking at the listing ceremony of the pioneer FGN N10.69 billion Green Bond at the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange in Lagos.

NAN reports 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.

Oniha who was not specific when the second tranche would be floated adding that the amount to be raised has not been determined.

“It should be for the borrowing of this year, we can’t give you a figure. We have already asked the federal ministry of environment to work towards it,” she said.

Oniha said the federal government was excited to midwife the green bond initiative being the first country in Africa to issue a sovereign green bond.

Oniha said the funds from the N10.69 billion Green bond and the subsequent ones would be for specified projects from the appropriation act like the Sukuk bond.

“The project will be very specific, and would already have been listed in the budget. So what is required is for them to be part of the budget and to be qualified for green bond financing.”

Bola Onadele, the managing director, FMDQ OTC, said the exchange would remain committed to the transformation of the nation’s debt capital market.

Onadele said the organisation would continue to work with other stakeholders to deepen the debt market with the introduction of new products.