J.P. Morgan has announced plans to establish a merchant bank in Nigeria before the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval, in a move expected to strengthen its presence in the country and support efforts to attract foreign investment.
The Managing Director of J.P. Morgan West Africa, Dapo Olagunji, disclosed this on October 8 at the Nigeria-Asia Financial Connectivity Dialogue held in Singapore.
The dialogue was organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with J.P. Morgan, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and FMDQ Group, according to a statement issued on Thursday.
The proposed merchant bank comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to deepen its financial markets, strengthen international financial connections and attract more foreign capital.
The announcement followed engagements by CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso with financial institutions in Singapore ahead of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bangkok.
It also comes weeks after J.P. Morgan announced on September 15 that Nigeria would be included in its new emerging markets index, the Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets Edge (GBI-EM Edge), with a weighting of 7.4 per cent.
The index tracks government bonds denominated in local currencies and provides international investors with a benchmark for assessing investment opportunities in emerging markets.
Nigeria’s inclusion marks its return to J.P. Morgan’s emerging-market government bond index nearly 11 years after the country was removed in 2015.
The development is expected to increase the visibility of Nigeria’s domestic government securities among global fixed-income investors and potentially strengthen foreign investor interest in the country’s debt market.
The planned merchant bank, subject to regulatory approval, would further expand J.P. Morgan’s presence in Nigeria as the country seeks to strengthen its position in international financial markets.
