Nigeria govt raises $2.2bn from Eurobond amid oversubscription

Nigeria’s Eurobond is said to have achieve a milestone on Monday, raising $2.2 billion after the country returned to the international market.

This comes as the country recorded a $9 billion oversubscription of its Eurobond.

The bond issuance, which commenced on Monday under the Global Medium Term Note Programme, had a target issuance of $1.7 billion; however, it was oversubscribed.

The federal government aims to use the Eurobond to take care of the country’s fiscal deficit.

The federal government sold $700 million worth of the 6.5-year Eurobond maturing in 2031 at a coupon rate of 9.625 percent and $1.5 billion of the 10-year tenure at 10.375 percent.

It could be recalled that the government had earlier announced that it would be issuing $500 million worth of the bonds.

The two tranches of the Eurobond are a 6.5-year bond with a coupon rate of 10.125 percent and the second tranche is a 10-year bond with a coupon rate of 10.625 percent.

This Eurobond issuance marks another significant step in Nigeria’s efforts to diversify its funding sources and attract foreign investment.

Earlier, Wale Edun, the minister of finance, had announced plans by the federal government to issue a $1.7 billion Eurobond as part of an external borrowing plan to strengthen the country’s finances and support economic reforms last month.

He said, “The first objective is to complete the federal government’s external borrowing programme with the approval of the $2.2 billion financing package, which will include access to the international capital market through a combination of Eurobonds and Sukuk bonds—approximately $1.7 billion from the Eurobond offer and $500 million from Sukuk financing”.