
We announced our guarantee of North-South Power Company Limited’s (“NSP”)
In February 2019, we announced our guarantee of North-South Power Company Limited’s (“NSP”) NGN8.5billion 15-Year 15.60% Series 1 Guaranteed Fixed Rate Senior Green Infrastructure Bonds Due 2034 (the “Series 1 Green Bonds”) under a NGN50billion Debt Issuance Programme. NSP is the operator of a 30-year concession on the 600MW Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Plant. With InfraCredit’s guarantee, the Series 1 Green Bonds was accorded a ‘AAA’ credit rating by Agusto& Co. and Global Credit Ratings Co. and issued on 27th February 2019 as the first certified corporate green bond and the longest-tenured (15-year) corporate bond issued in the Nigerian debt capital markets approved by the SEC under a NGN50billion Debt Issuance Programme. The Series 1 Green Bonds was 160% subscribed with firm commitments from fifteen (15) institutional investors including eleven (11) pension funds and priced at 70 basis point spread to the comparable 15-year sovereign benchmark bond (FGN 2034) using the closing yield on the reference date (04 February 2019) adopted for the book building. The proceeds of the Series 1 Green Bonds will fund the overhaul of a 150MW hydropower turbine and replacement of the company’s current short term (naira and dollar denominated) bank facilities with long term local currency debt, thereby eliminating the currency and tenor mismatch in the company’s funding structure.
