Economy
FG to Sell $2.5b Eurobond in October to Fund 2017 Budget
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Next month, Nigeria plans to sell $2.5 billion Eurobond and proceeds from the sale would be used to fund the 2017 budget, Bloomberg reports.
Also, after the October Eurobond sale, the Federal Government will issue another $3 billion Eurobond before the end of the year, the reputable media outfit added.
This would bring to $7 billion the country has sold this year alone.
Here is the Bloomberg report
Nigeria plans to sell as much as $5.5 billion of Eurobonds in the next three months to fund capital projects and replace local-currency debt, according to the Debt Management Office. Yields on existing bonds rose to the highest in two months.
The new offers would bring the amount raised through Eurobond sales by Africa’s most-populous nation this year to more than $7 billion as President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration restructures its debt portfolio to almost double the portion of foreign borrowing in a bid to reduce financing costs.
The government wants to raise $2.5 billion in October to help fund 2017’s 7.4 trillion-naira ($20.8 billion) budget, the biggest yet, DMO Director-General Patience Oniha said on Wednesday in an interview in the capital, Abuja. It will sell the remaining $3 billion before the end of the year to replace naira-denominated debt, she said.
The government’s advisers “have told us the market is waiting,” Oniha said. “Work is already ongoing and we are just waiting for a resolution from the National Assembly to proceed.”
The yield on Nigeria’s $500 million of Eurobonds due July 2023 rose four basis points by 1:26 p.m. in London, extending Wednesday’s 15 basis-point climb, to 5.49 percent, the highest since Aug. 21. That on the nation’s dollar securities due in 2032 increased six basis points to 6.91 percent, the highest since July 18.
Citigroup Inc. and Standard Chartered Plc, which helped Nigeria sell bonds this year, will be retained as bookrunners for the $2.5 billion, and are in talks with the government to also lead the $3 billion sale, Oniha said.
Increase Proportion
Nigeria’s overall foreign debt, which includes funds from partners and the Export-Import Bank of China, stood at $15.1 billion as of June 30, while domestic debt was 14.1 trillion naira, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sept. 19. The government wants to increase the proportion of foreign borrowing to 40 percent of total debt stock from under 30 percent currently, Oniha said.
“That will reduce the government’s borrowing costs,” she said. There is an almost 10 percentage-point spread between domestic and foreign borrowing costs and the restructuring debt plan will help save the government hundreds of million dollars in financing costs, Oniha said.
Nigeria’s Eurobonds yield an average 6 percent, compared with about 16 percent for its naira debt, according to Bloomberg indexes
The Monetary Policy Committee on Sept. 26 left its key interest rate at a record high of 14 percent, where it’s been for more than a year, to fight inflation that’s almost double the target and maintain hard-won stability in exchange rates, Governor Godwin Emefiele said. In the second quarter, the economy emerged from a 2016 slump, the deepest in more than a quarter of a century, with gross domestic product rising 0.6 percent from a year earlier.
High domestic borrowing costs are also forcing the DMO to reduce the maturity of naira debt it plans to sell so that it doesn’t lock in unfavorable interest payments over a longer period, Oniha said. “That will be reflected in our next-quarter calendar for bonds,” Oniha said. The government will instead push for more than 15-year tenure on dollar-denominated securities, she said.
“The good news about this is that Nigeria has the capacity to borrow more from the international capital market given improving fundamentals and its relatively low external debt levels, around 4-5 percent of gross domestic product,” Gaimin Nonyane, the London-based economic-research head at Ecobank International Group, said. “Some of these funds are likely to be used to finance the 2018 maturing debt of $500 million.”
While Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio is among the lowest in Africa, its interest payments-to-revenue ratio doubled last year to 66 percent of revenue, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The government is looking to plug a 2017 budget deficit that it forecast at 2.3 trillion naira, or 2.2 percent of GDP following a revenue shortfall caused by the decline of output and price of oil, its main export. About one-third of this year’s budget will be invested in new roads, rail, ports and power as part of a wider plan to help the economy recover from a 1.6 percent contraction last year, boost growth to 7 percent, and create 15 million jobs by 2020.
Source: Bloomberg
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom via the British High Commission in Abuja has launched two flagship economic reform programmes – the Nigeria Economic Stability & Transformation (NEST) programme and the Nigeria Public Finance Facility (NPFF) -as part of efforts to support Nigeria’s economic reform and growth agenda.
Backed by a £12.4 million UK investment, NEST and NPFF sit at the centre of the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership and support Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen macroeconomic stability, improve fiscal resilience, and create a more competitive environment for investment and private-sector growth.
Speaking at the launch, Cynthia Rowe, Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission in Abuja, said, “These two programmes sit at the heart of our economic development cooperation with Nigeria. They reflect a shared commitment to strengthening the fundamentals that matter most for our stability, confidence, and long-term growth.”
The launch followed the inaugural meeting of the Joint UK-Nigeria Steering Committee, which endorsed the approach of both programmes and confirmed strong alignment between the UK and Nigeria on priority areas for delivery.
Representing the Government of Nigeria, Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Finance and the Economy, Mrs Sanyade Okoli, welcomed the collaboration, touting it as crucial to current, critical reforms.
“We welcome the United Kingdom’s support through these new programmes as a strong demonstration of our shared commitment to Nigeria’s economic stability and long-term prosperity. At a time when we are implementing critical reforms to strengthen fiscal resilience, improve macroeconomic stability, and unlock inclusive growth, this partnership will provide valuable technical support. Together, we are laying the foundation for a more resilient economy that delivers sustainable development and improved livelihoods for all Nigerians.”
On his part, Mr Jonny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, highlighted the significance of the programmes within the wider UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership.
“NEST and NPFF are central to our shared approach to strengthening the foundations that underpin long-term economic prosperity. They sit firmly within the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the growth, digital capacity, and sustainability of Nigeria’s 40 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has been signed by MTN Nigeria and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
The collaboration will feature joint initiatives focused on digital inclusion, financial access, capacity building, and providing verified information for MSMEs.
With millions of small businesses depending on accurate guidance and easy-to-access support, MTN and SMEDAN say their shared platform will address gaps in communication, misinformation, and access to opportunities.
At the formal signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday, November 27, 2025, in Lagos, the stage was set for the immediate roll-out of tools, content, and resources that will support MSMEs nationwide.
The chief operating officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr Ayham Moussa, reiterated the company’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s economic development, stating that MSMEs are the lifeline of Nigeria’s economy.
“SMEs are the backbone of the economy and the backbone of employment in Nigeria. We are delighted to power SMEDAN’s platform and provide tools that help MSMEs reach customers, obtain funding, and access wider markets. This collaboration serves both our business and social development objectives,” he stated.
Also, the Chief Enterprise Business Officer of MTN Nigeria, Ms Lynda Saint-Nwafor, described the MoU as a tool to “meet SMEs at the point of their needs,” noting that nano, micro, small, and medium businesses each require different resources to scale.
“Some SMEs need guidance, some need resources; others need opportunities or workforce support. This platform allows them to access whatever they need. We are committed to identifying opportunities across financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and capacity building that help SMEs to scale,” she noted.
Also commenting, the Director General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, emphasised the significance of the collaboration, noting that the agency cannot meet its mandate without leveraging technology and private-sector expertise.
“We have approximately 40 million MSMEs in Nigeria, and only about 400 SMEDAN staff. We cannot fulfil our mandate without technology, data, and strong partners.
“MTN already has the infrastructure and tools to support MSMEs from payments to identity, hosting, learning, and more. With this partnership, we are confident we can achieve in a short time what would have taken years,” he disclosed.
Mr Odii highlighted that the SMEDAN-MTN collaboration would support businesses across their growth needs, guided by their four-point GROW model – Guidance, Resources, Opportunities, and Workforce Development.
He added that SMEDAN has already created over 100,000 jobs within its two-year administration and expects the partnership to significantly boost job creation, business expansion, and nationwide enterprise modernisation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.
Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.
Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”
According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”
“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”
Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.
He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.
Mr Oyedele also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.
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