UPDATE 1-Demand heavy for World Bank arm's first naira bond

LAGOS/JOHANNESBURG Feb 5 (Reuters) - The World Bank's IFC private sector arm issued 12 billion naira ($75 million) worth of its debut Nigeria local currency bond on Tuesday with a yield of 10.2 percent.

Jingdong Hua, vice president and treasurer of the International Finance Corporation, confirmed a Reuters report and said the issue was 50 percent larger than the original 8 billion naira planned.

"The investor demand was tremendous," he told Reuters in a phone interview. "We got very positive messages from market participants that they welcome the new asset class coming into the market."

The 5-year issue, dubbed the "Naija" bond after a popular local nickname for Nigeria, is the first placement by a non-resident issuer in the domestic bond market.

The IFC wants the bond to support Nigeria's capital markets and increase access to long-term local currency finance.

Its committed portfolio in Nigeria stands at $1.1 billion, the largest country portfolio in Africa and the eighth-largest globally, it said in a statement.