Nigeria's corporate bonds steady at N2.3tn on FMDQ as CP market recovers
Nigeria's corporate bond market held steady in June 2026, with outstanding value at N2.30 trillion—barely changed from May's N2.29 trillion but up significantly from February's low of N1.78 trillion. This keeps corporate bonds as FMDQ Exchange's largest segment, nearly five times the size of the commercial paper market which recovered to N465.34 billion.
New corporate bond listings rebounded to N15.00 billion in June after zero issuance in May, though far below April's peak of N531.89 billion. Financing costs eased: average discount rate for commercial paper fell to 19.18% (from 19.78% in May), extending a downward trend from June 2025's high of 22.49%. Local currency corporate bonds with 5-10 year tenors carried 18.00% rates, below CP rates as expected for longer-dated instruments.
Sectoral activity showed telecommunications driving 60% of commercial paper issuance, with financial services and health/pharma each at 20%. Despite weak new listings across both segments, recovering outstanding values suggest underlying investor demand remains intact.
With Nigeria's debt market showing resilience despite high rates—evidenced by record N249.18 trillion turnover Jan-Apr—will you consider corporate bonds for long-term financing needs or monitor commercial paper for short-term opportunities as conditions gradually improve?