The Lagos State Government has announced plans to issue N1tn worth of asset-backed securities in the first quarter of next year as part of efforts to deepen the capital market and unlock value from state-owned assets.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Oluyomi Abayomi, disclosed this at the Investment Banking Awards Dinner of the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria, held in Lagos on Thursday.
Abayomi said the initiative followed the successful completion of a N200bn bond issuance, which he described as a major milestone in the state’s financing and investment strategy.
“One of the instruments that will be introduced in the first quarter of next year is an asset-backed security. We are going to be securitising the assets that we are currently managing, worth over N1tn,” he said.
He added that some local government areas in the state would also approach the capital market to issue municipal bonds in the first half of 2026, as part of broader efforts to strengthen subnational financing and keep the market active and attractive to investors.
According to him, Lagos’ financing initiatives are designed to boost investor confidence, enhance liquidity, and provide sustainable funding channels for infrastructure and development projects across the state.
Abayomi noted that the state’s N200bn 10-year bond and N14.815bn green bond the first by any subnational government in Nigeria were both oversubscribed by about 70 per cent.
Speaking on the impact of Lagos’ planned instruments on the capital market, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, Jude Chiemeka, said the development would expand the market’s product offerings.
“It’s a good thing because it will help deepen the offering in the capital market. The market has long been dominated by debt and equity instruments, and high interest rates in recent years discouraged long-term bond issuance. Now that inflation and interest rates have been coming down, it creates opportunities for corporates to return to the market,” he said.
Chiemeka added that asset-backed securities would help revitalise dormant assets and create new avenues for capital raising, ultimately strengthening the market from both trading and issuance perspectives.
He disclosed that the NGX had facilitated the raising of N7.3 trillion year-to-date across various asset classes, noting that the Exchange would remain active in supporting asset-backed securities and municipal bond issuances.
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