The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) have signed an agreement to promote cross-listing and trading of green bonds in Nigeria and Luxembourg.
The signing ceremony led by NSE CEO, Oscar N. Onyema OON and LuxSE CEO, Robert Scharfe, took place during the annual meeting of the World Federation of Exchanges in Singapore on Wednesday, October 9, 2019.
According to a statement issued by the NSE on Wednesday, the MoU will allow the two exchanges to collaborate to share best practices and organise joint initiatives in their respective markets.
Oscar N. Onyema OON, Chief Executive Officer of The Nigerian Stock Exchange: “This collaboration reinforces NSE’s drive to foster the growth of sustainable finance in Nigeria, a journey that commenced with the launch of the first Sovereign Green Bond by NSE, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office.
With the MoU, issuers will enjoy the benefit of increased visibility through the cross-listing of their securities in Nigeria and Luxembourg. The partnership will further facilitate the growth of the Green Finance industry in Nigeria and ultimately deepen the Nigerian capital market through the mobilisation of the foreign green capital needed to fund sustainable projects in Nigeria.”
Robert Scharfe, CEO of LuxSE added: “Sustainable finance is becoming a truly global movement. By joining forces with other exchanges to promote and facilitate green finance, we strive to accelerate the sustainable finance agenda and increase awareness of and interest in investment projects that support the sustainable development that our world needs. We are pleased to cooperate with the Nigerian Stock Exchange to further strengthen sustainable finance in and between our markets.”
In December 2017, the NSE issued N10.69 billion Federal Government sovereign green bond which received international recognition. The issuance sparked significant interest from the international and local capital market communities.
The global green bond market worth $48 billion in the first quarter of 2019 with the London Stock Exchange as the most popular listing venue with USD5.7bn worth of deals.
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