President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime has succeeded in getting Nigeria to raise $1.25 billion through the issuance of seven-year Eurobonds in the International Capital Market (ICM) amid rising national debts.

On Thursday, the Debt Management Office announced that Nigeria’s public debt rose to N39.55 trillion as of December 2021.

The DMO director-general Patience Oniha stated that Nigeria was the first African country to access the International Capital Market (ICM) in 2022.

According to her, the country’s ability to access the Eurobonds at this time was a confirmation of its established presence with the ICM and engagement with investors on a continuous basis.

The proceeds of the bonds would be used to finance the budget and bridge infrastructural deficits, said the DMO.

“The offer was launched at an initial price of 8.75 per cent per annum, and on the back of strong investor demand, Nigeria was able to reverse the price guidance to 8.5 per cent per annum,” explained the DMO director-general. “The order book continued to grow, reaching a peak of four billion dollars.”

She further stated that the order book included many quality investors in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

“With this strong investor interest, the price was tightened at 8.37 per cent per annum, the order book still remained high at 3.67 billion dollars and still retained quality investors,” she added.

She further mentioned that Nigerian investors also participated in the offer with a total subscription of $60 million.

She added that the Eurobonds would also strengthen economic recovery and contribute directly and in full to the level of Nigeria’s external reserves.

(NAN)