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The #Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO) is accessing the local market for N100 billion through Sukuk. The first Nigerian Sukuk is a 7-year tenor debt instrument and will go on sale from June 28, 2017, for three days via book building. It will be traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the FMDQ Securities Exchange OTC platform. The bond will target retail and institutional investors, while First Bank and Islamic wealth manager Lotus Capital will act as managers for the sale. According to DMO, the introduction of Sukuk is not only a way of raising capital for the government and promotion of greater financial inclusion, it is also part of the plan to fast track infrastructure development. The current manager of DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo will be leaving office at the end of June and the Sukuk issuance is seen as his parting gift.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, said he welcomed an offer by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to organisze a financing roundtable in Abuja to mobilise more funds for investment and development of infrastructure in Nigeria. The president of the IDB, Dr Ahmed Mohammed Ali made the offer at a meeting with Buhari who is currently on an official visit to Saudi Arabia. Ali assured Buhari that the IDB would work with its traditional partners such as the Saudi Fund, the Kuwait Fund, Arab Bank for Development in Africa and the Abu Dhabi Fund, to increase the quantum of funding available to Nigeria. Buhari welcomed the plan by the IDB to fast track the take-off of the Bilingual Education Programme, aimed at integrating the Almajiri system of education with western education in Nigeria.

With the age-old funding challenges that Small, Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) have to contend with and the steady ascendancy of non-interest banking, analysts x-ray the possibility of Islamic banking bridging the funding gap in the SME sector, writes Olaseni Durojaiye. Reacting to enquiries on capital markets as a source of access to fund by SMEs, Chief Executive Officer of Global Analytics Derivatives, Tope Fasua, had contended that the Nigeria Capital Market was not accustomed to providing financing for SMEs at the present and argued that this may be due to issues bordering on sharp practices on the part of some of the listed corporation and companies in the bourse.

The Representative of the Jaiz Bank in Nigeria, Dr. Mizanur Rahman, has disclosed the plan of the bank to extend its services to Kwara and Lagos states. He lamented that due to limited scope within the country, the bank lost about N1 billion but reiterated its hope that it would do well in 2015. Rahman made the statement at the jointly organised thematic workshop on Development of Islamic Banking in Africa at the Alhikmah University in Ilorin. The workshop was jointly organised by the Research and Training Institute (IRTI) in Saudi Arabia, the University of Ilorin and Al-Hikmah University.

As part of efforts to ensure that the ecosystem was preserved, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) about two years ago rolled out guidelines on the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP). The central bank had directed that sustainability reporting would commence in June 2014 with the submission of the one-off report (first quarter) not later than July 7, 2014. The CBN also instrcted that the second quarter one-off report should be submitted to it, not later than October 7, 2014, while the third quarter report should reach the CBN not later than January 7, 2015. Nonetheless, there are indications that some banks are having challenge complying with the reporting template because they are required to implement a sustainable banking principles and the respective management approach.

The Maidah Foundation, a non-governmental organisation for muslim women entrepreneurs has urged the federal government to adopt a non-interest financing to boost micro small and medium enterprise (MSME) in the country. This is contained in a communique read to newsmen by the Secretary-General of the Foundation, Hajia Latifat Balogun, at its stakeholder forum in Abuja. The communique said the development had capacity to bring millions of unbanked Nigerians to the formal sector. The communique further said the foundation was prepared to support government efforts to formulate appropriate template for the adoption of the new finance regime. The objective of the foundation is to contribute towards the economic development of women entrepreneurs in the country.

Shareholders of Jaiz Bank Plc yesterday approved the bank's bid to get a national operating licence in order to establish its presence across the country. It also emerged that the bank has grown its assets base to N34 billion as at the end of its 2013 financial year. This represented an increase of 141 per cent compared to the N14 billion recorded in 2012. The bank hopes to acquire the National Operating License before the end of the third quarter, to enable it operate in all the 36 states of the federation. Chairman of the bank, Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab, said that in no distant future, the company would be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Jaiz foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Jaiz Bank, has donated relief materials worth N10 million to victims of Boko Haram insurgency in Borno state. The items donated included 200 bags of grains, 1,600 pieces of clothing materials for both men and women, 660 gallons of groundnut oil, among others. Borno state governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, assured that the materials will be distributed to victims of Boko Haram insurgency, especially during the Ramadan. Shettima assured of the state government's readiness to continue to identify with the bank and called on other institutions and corporate bodies to emulate Jaiz and Dangote foundations.

The investment management firm Lotus Capital Limited has been honoured as the best in Africa by the Islamic Finance News (IFN). Lotus Capital won the Africa Deal of the Year Award as the lead issuing house for the N11.4 billion Osun state sukuk issue, which was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in September 2013. The issue was oversubscribed by about 20 per cent. The Osun state government, represented by the Honourable Commissioner of Finance, and the Solicitors to the Issue, Kola Awodein and Co, were also award recipients for the deal. Besides, Lotus also developed the country's first Islamic Index on the NSE, known as the “NSE Lotus Islamic Index” or NSE LII. The Index recorded +44.21 per cent in 2012 and +61.84 per cent in 2013.

Jaiz Bank Plc Shareholders' Fund grew by 53 percent to N10.1 billion in 2012 from about N6.45 billion in the previous year, according to its 2012 financial statement. Also, its depositors’ funds stood at N3.29 billion while total investment in the period under review amounted to N1.96 billion. Gross earnings during the period stood at N79.560 million. However, the bank recorded an operating loss of N1.07 billion in 2012. Its total assets climbed to N14.1 billion, from N5 billion in January 2012. The bank's Chairman, Board of Directors, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab said that necessary steps had been taken to ensure the bank obtained a national license aiming to establish its presence in all states of the federation within the next five to six years. The strategies for realising the set targets will include aggressive deposit drive, investment in the real sector of the economy and also in agriculture.

Corruption remains the biggest obstacle hindering Nigeria from achieving its economic potentials, according to the Managing Director of Jaiz Bank, Muhammad Nurul Islam. Speaking in a keynote lecture at a one-day forum of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), Islam said corruption had often given way to a situation where the wrong people had been given leadership responsibilities. Moreover, he said FICAN had a critical role to play in exposing illegal financial transactions. The aim of the FICAN platform was to promote a mechanism for reviewing and analysing activities in the country's economic sphere.

According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), Nigeria has an infrastructure deficit of $360 billion. However, the adequate physical infrastructure in the country has been identified as one of the major factors to support sustained and broad-based strong economic growth. Addressing these challenges will require a substantially larger annual level of investment in infrastructure. However, access to finance, to fund the development of most of these critical sectors has remained a challenge. One of the alternatives today is Islamic finance. Moreover, Islamic finance products have the capacity for ensuring financial inclusion of significant segment of the population.

Jaiz Bank has appointed Muhammad Nurul Islam from the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited as its new managing director/chief executive to steer its affairs and better position the bank. He takes over from Hassan Usman, who had been acting managing director of Jaiz Bank since April. Nurul Islam has vast knowledge of non-interest Islamic banking experience garnered for over three decades. He holds Masters in Business Administration from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka in 1982, with a major in finance and has attended several professional training and seminars. Moreover, he is a member of many professional associations, including Life Member, Association of the Bankers’ Bangladesh.

The Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari, has said the state would invest the sum of N1.5 billion in Jaiz Bank to shore up the financial institution’s capital base. Speaking in Gusau while inaugurating the bank's 11th branch since it started operations in January last year, he urged citizens of the state to patronise the bank in order to realise the gains of non-interest banking. Moreover, the governor said local government funds would be invested in the bank. People will be mobilised through the mass media to educate them on the importance if the bank, he added. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the bank, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, expressed appreciation to the governor for his interest in the bank.

Jaiz Bank Plc has joined other commercial banks in processing of foreign exchange transactions. This allows the bank to process forex transactions for eligible bureau de change (BDC) operators at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The bank will reportedly commence bidding for its BDC customers from all branches by the first week of September. Furthermore, the bank has also commenced over the counter transactions of PTA and BTA sales at all its branches. Jaiz Bank has 10 branches in several regions of Nigeria. Its capital base had also grown from N5 billion when it started operations last year to about N10 billion.

Barring any unforeseen circumstance, Osun State will issue Nigeria's first Sukuk bond of N10 billion before the end of July. The planned 7-year paper would be part of a N60 billion debt raising programme of the state which started last year. The Osun bond will be issued through a book-building process which will earn a return for sukuk holders via a semi-annually paid rent structure called the Ijara. The government is targeting local pension funds and international investors on the bond. Local credit rating agency Agusto & Co has assigned an A rating to the note, which will be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Osun is waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) approval to start marketing the bond. The funds will be used to finance the construction of education projects.

Jaiz Bank Plc has commenced operations in Gombe State, is now located in four states in Nigeria. In the next four years, the bank plans to be in all the 36 states of the federation. Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank, Alhaji Umru Mutallab emphasized the bank’s desire to make positive contributions in the society as well as to provide access to innovative channels of financing as alternatives to interest-based systems. He assured that the bank was opened to all irrespective of race or religion.

Insurance professionals have confirmed that, contrary to their expectation, consumers of takaful insurance, targeted at Muslims in the Northern part of the country, consist more of Christians from the South-East extraction. Moreover, the Vice Chairman of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) Oyo State Chapter, Mr. Babatunde Omosola, confirmed that takaful insurance products have been doing well in the market because they meet the needs of low income earners including motorcyclists, teachers and farmers, and very simple too. Meanwhile, the President of CIIN, Mr. Wole Adetimehin, has reassured that the institute would remain focused in its support the industry by building the necessary human capital to grow the industry.

Jaiz Bank Plc has said it increased its authorised share capital to about N11 billion from only about N5 billion in January 2012 when it commenced operation. The bank is currently financing critical areas such as Agricultural, Small and Medium Scale Industries and Home Finance. General Manager, Business Development, Mallam Hassan Usman said the bank's plan is to expand to 25 branches before the end of the year. Moreover, Jaiz offers financing products and services like other conventional banks except these are devoid of interest. The services are available to all irrespective of race or religion, he added.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has been a witness of several stimulating initiatives in 2012 which were designed to to encourage growth in capital market activities and give the market depth. An example: Early in 2013, The NSE Lotus Islamic Index was launched to track Shariah-compliant stocks, listing rules were revised, and recently, the central government stopped value added tax (VAT) and stamp duties charged on market transactions. As a whole, the initiatives aim to transform the Nigerian market to make it more attractive for local and foreign portfolio investments and engender investor confidence.