The Securities and Change Fee (SEC) accepted industrial paper (CP) programmes value N1.37 trillion as of October 23, 2025, reflecting rising recourse to short-term debt in company funding methods.
Nonetheless, precise drawdowns from these approvals remained considerably decrease, based on knowledge from the Fee.
SEC-approved issuances present that Corporates raised roughly N753 billion throughout a number of collection and tranches, translating to a utilisation charge of about 54%.
The huge hole between accepted limits and funds highlights a cautious strategy by issuers, who’re more and more tapping the CP market in phases moderately than absolutely utilising programme sizes without delay.
The SEC accepted industrial paper (CP) programmes value N1.37 trillion as of October 23, 2025 however corporates raised about N753 billion.
Issuance exercise was closely concentrated amongst just a few massive corporates, led overwhelmingly by Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc. Working underneath a N300 billion programme, Dangote Sugar accounted for over 45% of complete CP issuance, elevating greater than N300 billion throughout a number of collection.
Its dominance highlights how massive, cash-intensive companies are leaning on the CP market to handle working capital and refinancing wants.
Past Dangote Sugar, issuance was extra fragmented throughout {financial} companies, agribusiness, and shopper sectors. Johnvents Industries Restricted raised about N52.6 billion, UAC Nigeria Plc issued N45 billion, whereas Citibank Nigeria Restricted drew simply N26.7 billion regardless of a big approval dimension.
Fintechs and mid-sized companies, notably Payaza Africa Restricted, additionally deepened participation.
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc emerged because the dominant issuer in the course of the interval, accounting for over 45% of complete industrial paper issuance.
Working underneath a N300 billion programme, the corporate issued a number of tranches starting from Sequence 10 to Sequence 16, with particular person issuances spanning N4.7 billion to N96.7 billion. Collectively, Dangote Sugar raised over N300 billion, making it the one largest contributor to CP market liquidity in 2025.
Its repeated market entry displays each its scale and the rising reliance of huge corporates on short-term funding to handle working capital and refinancing wants.
Behind Dangote Sugar, issuance exercise was unfold throughout {financial} companies, agribusiness, and consumer-facing sectors.
Johnvents Industries Restricted raised about N52.6 billion from its N100 billion programme, whereas UAC Nigeria Plc issued N45 billion underneath its N65 billion programme.
Within the {financial} sector, Citibank Nigeria Restricted, working a N300 billion CP programme, issued N26.7 billion throughout two collection, reflecting comparatively modest utilisation regardless of a big approval dimension.
The info additionally present elevated participation from fintechs and mid-sized issuers.
Payaza Africa Restricted raised practically N43 billion throughout three collection underneath its N50 billion programme, making it some of the lively non-industrial issuers available in the market.
Golden Fertilizer Firm Restricted issued N20.0 billion from a N40 billion programme, whereas Skymark Companions Restricted raised simply over N11 billion regardless of holding an identical programme dimension, reflecting shorter-term, working-capital-focused issuance.
Different notable issuers included Champion Breweries Plc, Valency Agro Nigeria Restricted, Neveah United Capital Plc, and several other special-purpose autos, all contributing smaller however constant volumes to total issuance.
Corporates together with these but to be listed on the Nigerian Change (NGX), are more and more exploring cheaper funding choices in response to elevated rates of interest of economic banks attributable to excessive benchmark coverage charges (MPR at 27%); banks usually add margins on high of that for danger and value, which push precise mortgage pricing increased.
Company debtors with sturdy credit score histories could negotiate prime lending charges considerably nearer to the bottom lending charge or barely beneath, whereas smaller or riskier companies pay increased charges. It’s towards this background that Business Paper issuances rose sharply in the course of the overview interval.
Throughout issuers, maturities had been largely clustered between December 2025 and mid-2026, reinforcing the usage of industrial papers as short-term liquidity instruments moderately than long-term financing devices of economic banks that include premium value.
Analysts notice that the sturdy pipeline of accepted however undrawn programmes suggests issuance exercise might stay elevated into 2026, significantly if borrowing prices keep excessive and entry to long-term credit score stays constrained.
