TAJBank Limited, a non-interest lender, announced its approval to start a N100 billion Sukuk bond issuance.
The bank claimed in a statement yesterday that it is the first non-interest private Sukuk bond offering in the country’s capital market.
The bank has obtained all regulatory permissions necessary for the Sukuk to be made available to the general public, and the bond will be listed on the Nigerian Exchange.
During the event at the bank’s headquarters in Abuja, Mr Hamid Joda, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, described the bank’s latest investment initiative as a significant milestone in the development of Nigeria’s capital market and assured investors of good returns on their investment in the TAJBank Sukuk bond.
He said, “My message to the investing public is to take advantage of the opportunity in view of its potential for good returns. The instrument is coming out at an expected rate of 15 per cent. It is also an ethical instrument and there are very few ethical instruments out there and I believe a lot of investors are looking for instruments that have ethical leaning.”
The bank’s Executive Director, Mr Sheriff Idi said: “With the Sukuk bond issuance, we wanted to raise TAJ Bank’s capital base to about N30 billion by the end of the year and that means we can now finance those sectors that probably some initially thought we could not provide funding support. That is the essence of this Sukuk bond issuance.”
The bank’s Chairman, Alhaji Tanko Isiaku Gwamna, further clarified: “The funds raised through the Sukuk bond and innovative deployment to needy sectors of the economy will help to create jobs, boost economic activities and improve the non-interest banking sub-sector’s contributions to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the years ahead.”
