FG has budgetary provisions to meet foreign, local debt obligations—DMO

Debt Management Office says the federal government has made adequate budgetary provisions to meet the country’s foreign and local debt obligations. The DMO said this in a statement on Wednesday. According to the office, Nigeria’s debt management practice is in accordance with relevant legislations and regulations in compliance with international practices. It said the country had, over the years, serviced its external and domestic debts promptly, which has made federal government securities attractive to foreign and local investors. It cited the recently successfully priced $2.2 billion in Eurobonds in the international capital markets, which received a subscription of over $9 billion.
“Nigeria attracted a wide range of investors from multiple jurisdictions including the UK, North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and participation from Nigerian investors.
It is an expression of continued investor confidence in the country’s sound macro-economic policy framework and prudent fiscal and monetary management. The transaction attracted a peak order book of more than nine billion dollars. This underscores the strong support for the transaction across geography and investor class,” it said. It said demand came from a combination of fund managers, insurance and pension funds, hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions. In addition, one of the landmark achievements of the Eurobond is that it opened up opportunities for banks and other corporate entities in the Eurobond market,” it said.
DMO said that the increased investors’ interest in the FGN bonds, the Sukuk bonds, and other FGN securities also attest to the country’s strict adherence to best practices in debt management. It assured that there were adequate provisions in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the annual budgets to meet the country’s debt service obligations when due. It added that through borrowing, Nigeria now had a robust domestic capital market, with many local and foreign investors showing interest.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the successful issuance of the Eurobonds signposted increasing confidence in the government’s ongoing efforts to stabilise the Nigerian economy. According to Mr Edun, the broad range of investors’ appetite to invest in our Eurobonds is encouraging as we continue diversifying our funding sources and deepening our engagement with the international capital markets. Also, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, said the outcome underscored investors’ growing confidence and the Nigeria credit’s resilience. (NAN)