The Bank of Industry says the five-day oversubscription reflects investor confidence and will strengthen long-term financing for Nigerian businesses

The Bank of Industry Limited has hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his support after its ₦250 billion Series 1 Fixed Rate Bond was oversubscribed within five working days, describing the response as a strong vote of confidence in the bank and Nigeria’s domestic capital market.

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The bond was issued through BOI Financing SPV Plc under the bank’s $1 billion Multi-Currency Instruments Programme, in a transaction designed to raise long-term funding for productive investment across the Nigerian economy.

BOI Chief Executive Officer, Olasupo Olusi, said the strength of investor demand demonstrated growing confidence in the institution and the ability of Nigeria’s capital market to mobilise substantial domestic savings for development.

“The strength of the investor response is a vote of confidence not only in BOI, but also in the capacity of Nigeria’s domestic capital market to mobilise long-term capital for productive investment,” Olusi said.

He attributed part of the strong response to support from President Tinubu, particularly executive approval for incentives intended to encourage investment in the transaction.

“As a Development Finance Institution, we could not have received the strong investor demand for the bond in five working days without the support of President Tinubu, who gave his executive approval for various incentives to encourage investors,” Olusi said.

The BOI ₦250bn bond is expected to provide the development finance institution with additional capacity to offer longer-term funding to eligible businesses, particularly enterprises operating in sectors considered important to Nigeria’s economic development.

Olusi said the ultimate objective was to convert investor confidence into financing that could support industrial expansion, job creation and stronger domestic value chains.

The bank’s management also disclosed that ₦100 billion approved for BOI by the President would be deployed to help blend the cost of the bond and cushion the effect of elevated interest rates on manufacturers and other BOI customers.

The intervention is particularly significant for businesses facing high borrowing costs, as access to longer-term and relatively more affordable finance remains a major challenge for manufacturers and other capital-intensive enterprises.

Olusi described the presidential support as further evidence of the administration’s commitment to Nigeria’s productive sector.

“This is further testament to Mr President’s support for Nigeria’s productive sector,” he said.

The successful transaction also represents a shift in BOI’s funding structure, with the institution combining its established participation in international capital markets with deeper mobilisation of long-term funds from domestic institutional investors.

The bank said the investor response demonstrated that Nigerian institutional investors continue to show appetite for high-quality, long-term domestic assets, particularly where proceeds are directed towards productive economic activity.

BOI’s role as a development finance institution means that the funds raised are expected to support investments in productive capacity, local value addition, employment and economic diversification rather than simply expanding conventional commercial lending.

The bank said proceeds from the issuance would strengthen its ability to provide long-term financing to eligible enterprises across priority sectors.

However, BOI and its transaction advisers cautioned that final subscription and allotment figures should not yet be disclosed.

The final allotment remains subject to approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission, while the transaction is still progressing towards completion.

The immediate significance of the offering, according to BOI, therefore lies not only in the oversubscription but also in the quality and breadth of investor participation and the pricing achieved.

The outcome comes at a time when Nigeria is seeking to deepen its domestic capital market and channel more institutional savings towards infrastructure, industry and other productive investments.

For BOI, the strong demand provides an encouraging signal as it seeks to expand its role in financing businesses capable of contributing to economic growth.

It also strengthens the bank’s position as a repeat issuer in Nigeria’s capital market and highlights the potential for domestic institutional funds to support development-oriented projects at scale.

If successfully deployed, the proceeds could give Nigerian enterprises greater access to patient capital, helping businesses expand production, create employment and build stronger local supply chains.

The bond’s performance therefore offers BOI more than a successful fundraising exercise.

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It provides a potentially powerful bridge between institutional investor confidence and the financing needs of businesses at the heart of Nigeria’s productive economy.