MTN raises N100bn through commercial paper 

Telecom giant, MTN Nigeria PLC Tuesday said it had completed the issuance of N100 billion Series I and II notes under the debut N100 billion Commercial Paper (CP) Programme, reputed to be the biggest debut commercial paper issuance by a Nigerian corporate.

Typically short-term debt instruments, commercial papers enable corporates to source funds from the investing public to meet obligations ranging from financing of payroll and accounts payable to settling inventories.

In a statement signed by Company Secretary Uto Ukpanah, the wireless operator stated that the Series I 180 day CP was priced at an effective yield of 4.90% for a N20 billion size while the Series II 270 day CP was cleared at an effective yield of 5.95% for an N80 billion size.

Read also: MTN Nigeria launches N50bn commercial paper to meet working capital needs

Nigeria’s second biggest public company initially set out to offer N50 billion under the N100 billion CP Programme but received overwhelming subscription, 400% greater than the original plan, at the end of the book-building process.

In view of the substantially oversubscribed book, MTN Nigeria resolved to issue up to N100 billion limit of the registered CP Programme at once with active involvement from a diverse spectrum of eligible individual and institutional investors, comprising asset managers, pension fund administrators and other financial institutions.

“The N100 billion issued is the largest commercial paper issuance by a Nigerian corporate. It allows us to broaden our sources of funding and combines our established lines of credit with access to capital market funding, which will lower our overall cost of borrowing,” Ferdinand Moolman, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, said at the closure of the book build.

Opinions