Business

TAJBank becomes first corporate to list Sukuk Bond on NGX

Published

10 months ago

February 15, 2023

Joel Ajayi

TAJBank Limited, Nigeria’s fast-growing non-interest banking services provider, yesterday on the trading floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) became the first corporate to list Sukuk Bond on the bourse.

The bank listed N10 billion Mudarabah Sukuk issuance after it successfully raised over N11.4 billion under its N100 Billion Sukuk Issuance Programme.

The first of its kind in Nigeria is an Additional Tier 1 Capital Mudarabah Sukuk with loss-absorbency features designed to help TAJ Bank strengthen its capital adequacy ratio and general corporate business activities.

The Issuance received interest from both Retail and Institutional Investors, resulting in a subscription of 113.6.

The oversubscription of this Issuance demonstrates that the investment culture in the Country is still vibrant and there is sustained confidence in Nigeria’s path to economic recovery and stability.

Speaking at the closing gong ceremony in commemoration of the listing of the Sukuk issuance on the floor of the Exchange, Chairman, TAJBank, Alhaji Tanko Gwamna who was with top executives of the bank, reiterated that the listing is the first of its kind on the trading floor and it comes with non-interest bearing.

He noted that the listing of the Corporate Sukuk is what the capital market needs to enhance liquidity and further grow Nigeria’s economy.

TAJBank Boss disclosed that the financial institution is considering investing in the manufacturing and Agriculture sectors with raised funds from the Sukuk.

“Manufacturing sector is the only sector that can take most of the youth out of the street and keep them engaged. Also, we are funding agriculture production and its value chain from start to finish. These two sectors are where we wanted to fund the Sukuk issuance,” he said.

“The listing on the Exchange is for investors to trade in the Sukuk and diversify their investment,” he added.

According to him, “We are setting the trend and I’m sure a lot of corporates will come along. We are making more offerings because the market is in need of corporate Sukuk. It was a transparent exercise and people can trade with our Sukuk and it will offer more liquidity for economic growth.

He added that the financial institution very soon will be back in the capital market and raise more funds.

Speaking also, the Managing Director/CEO, TAJBank, Mr. Hamid Joda said the aim of the Sukuk listing is to give Nigeria’s investors alternative means of investment.

He noted that, “Millions of investors have been yearning for non-interest or Islamic instrument. We believe this is an opportunity for them to invest in such an instrument.

“The funds raised will be deployed into high-impact sectors that create jobs in Nigeria’s economy and in that way, it will have high-impact opportunities for millions of Nigerians.

“I believe with this move; we have inspired many other corporates in the financial space to come on board and issue Sukuk for greater development of our dear country.”

Speaking at the ceremony, the Divisional Head, Capital Markets, NGX, Mr. Jude Chiemeka commended the efforts of TajBank’s leadership and the parties to the issue: Greenwich Merchant Bank, Lead Issuing House; 117 Capital & Buraq Capital, Joint Sharia Advisers; and United Capital, Brokers, on the transaction.

“NGX will continue to support issuers by providing a platform of choice for capital raising and linking them with a diverse pool of investors.

“The Exchange is also committed to the development of Islamic financing in the Nigerian capital market and continues to implement initiatives to deepen its offerings.”

Commonly referred to as Islamic Bonds, Sukuk – a non-interest-bearing bond- has helped government diversify its sources of funding while offering ethical investors an opportunity to invest in government-issued securities. The instrument has not only helped the government achieve a higher level of financial inclusion but has served as a reference for pricing Sukuk issued by other bodies, especially the private sector.

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Business

TAJBank Wins BusinessDay’s ‘Islamic Bank of The Year’ Award For 3rd Time

Published

3 weeks ago

November 6, 2023

The Gleamer

….Newspaper’s mgt link award to lender’s world-class services, others

…..Newspaper’s mgt justifies award on lender’s impressive financials, others

Joel Ajayi

TAJBank Limited, Nigeria’s fastest-growing and most customer-friendly non-interest lender, has again won the BusinessDay newspaper’s 2023 ‘Islamic Bank of the Year Award, beating other contenders in the selection process for the prestigious award for the third consecutive year.

Presenting the award to the Bank’s management, represented by the Regional Head, Lagos Mr. Michael Iteye, during the newspaper’s Banking and Financial Institutions (BAFI) awards ceremony held in Lagos, BusinessDay’s representatives at the awards ceremony, Tosin Sanni, GM Emerging Africa; and Frank Aigbogun, Publisher BusinessDay, said that the award was conferred on TAJBank in recognition of “its commitment to world-class services, impressive financial performances and consistently being at forefront in the nation’s financial inclusion drive over the last three years.”

Speaking on the highly competitive award by the newspaper, the bank’s Founder/Managing Director, Mr. Hamid Joda, said: “As the saying goes, hard work pays. So, the Islamic Bank of the Year Award by BusinessDay to our bank this year is a clear indication that the public is aware of the remarkable strides we are making to set new standards in technology-powered and value-laden services and products to our customers.

“We are happy that this award is coming barely four months after TAJBank became a leader in the Tier 1 Capital ranking and posted the highest Profit Before Tax (PBT) of the non-interest banking segment of the Nigerian Exchange in half year 2023.

“As we have said from the beginning as our corporate mantra that “our only interest is the customer”, the BusinessDay newspaper’s award this year is a confirmation that we are on track in terms of innovative service delivery and value-addition to our growing customers globally.

“Let me use this opportunity to thank our customers, the regulatory authorities and other stakeholders in the financial system that we will not relent in our efforts to consistently offer them the best as we continue to expand the frontiers of our operations for financial inclusion to the unbanked and under-banked people, especially those in the grassroots nationwide”, Joda assured.

Commenting on the latest recognition of the bank for its service delivery innovativeness, TAJBank’s Co-Founder/Executive Director, Mr. Sherif Idi, said: “We are excited for bagging this coveted award, which, based on what the newspaper’s management confirmed was bestowed on TAJBank after a rigorous competition and transparent process adopted by the panel of judges.

“As our Board and management have always said, this award is a call on us to do more in terms of innovative services and products’ packaging and I want to assure all stakeholders in the Nigerian and global non-interest banking space, particularly our valued customers, that TAJBank will not let them down, in terms of their expectations for world class services and getting loans without interest as we jointly continue to take the bank to loftier heights”, Idi assured.

It would be recalled that TAJBank had in 2021 and 2022 won the BusinessDay’s awards and before then had also clinched the Leadership Newspapers’ 2020 ‘Bank Of The Year’ award.

In recognition of the non-interest lender’s strict compliance with global best practices, particularly in information security standards in all areas of its operations, TAJBank in 2022 received the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certification and three International Standards Organisation (ISO) certifications by the Certification Partner Global (CPG), namely ISO 27001, ISO 22301, and ISO 20000 on Information Security, Business Continuity, and IT Service Management Systems

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