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 Aduragbemi Omiyale
The amount shared by the federal government, the 36 state governments and the 774 local government areas of the federation from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in April 2025 from the revenue generated last month declined by N100 billion, Business Post reports.
This month, FAAC disbursed about N1.578 trillion to the three tiers of government, lower than the N1.678 billion distributed in March 2025.
In a communiqué by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Bawa Mokwa, it was stated that the N1.578 trillion comprised statutory revenue of N931.325 billion, Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N593.750 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N24.971 billion, and an Exchange Difference revenue of N28.711 billion.
The money was shared after deducting N85.376 billion as cost of collection and N747.180 billion as total transfers, interventions and refunds from the total gross revenue of N2.411 trillion generated by the nation last month.
It was explained that gross statutory revenue of N1.718 trillion was received for March 2025 versus N1.653 trillion received in February 2025, and gross revenue of N637.618 billion was available from VAT compared with N654.456 billion a month earlier.
As for the distribution of the N1.578 trillion, FAAC said it gave the federal government N528.696 billion, the states N530.448 billion, the local councils N387.002 billion, and the benefiting states N132.611 billion as 13 per cent of mineral revenue.
It disclosed that on the N931.325 billion statutory revenue, the federal government received N422.485 billion, the state governments got N214.290 billion, the LGAs were given N165.209 billion, and the oil-producing states went away with N129.341 billion.
Further, from the N593.750 billion VAT revenue, the national government got N89.063 billion, the state governments received N296.875 billion, and the local councils got N207.813 billion.
In addition, from the N24.971 billion EMTL, the central government was given N3.746 billion, the state governments got N12.485 billion, and LGAs shared N8.740 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria and South Africa have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost mining cooperation, focusing on investment, knowledge exchange, and technology transfer.
The agreement was signed in Abuja by the Solid Minerals Development Minister, Mr Dele Alake, and South Africa’s Mineral Resources, Mr Gwede Mantashe.
A statement on Wednesday said the MoU was part of efforts to strengthen ties under the Nigeria–South Africa Bi-National Commission framework.
It noted that the deal sets out specific areas of collaboration alongside defined implementation timelines for joint activities and engagements in the mining sector.
“Both ministers pledged ongoing engagement to advance intra-African trade and implement practical steps outlined in the agreement,” it said.
The ministers also expressed optimism that the renewed partnership would significantly strengthen the mining industries of both countries through shared expertise and innovation.
Key highlights include capacity building in geological methods using UAVs and applying spectral remote sensing technologies for mineral exploration and mapping.
Other areas cover geoscientific data sharing via the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency, training in mineral processing, and value-addition initiatives.
The MoU also supports capacity building in elemental fingerprinting with LA-ICP-MS and joint exploration of agro and energy minerals within Nigeria.
Mr Alake restated that bilateral cooperation holds promise for industrialisation, employment generation, and sustainable economic development across the African continent.
“The agreement on geology, mining, and mineral processing will foster knowledge exchange, promote investment, and encourage regional integration,” Mr Alake stated.
He reiterated Nigeria’s focus on developing its mining sector, noting mutual benefits through mineral wealth and South Africa’s technological expertise.
According to Mr Alake, this synergy will attract investments, build skills, and help diversify Nigeria’s economy for long-term growth and stability.
Mr Mantashe, on his part lauded the agreement, noting that it will be crucial to South Africa, as well as promote cooperation between the two African nations.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
About £10 million has been injected into ARM-Harith’s Climate and Transition Infrastructure Fund (ACT Fund) to unlock local institutional capital for climate infrastructure.
The leading African private equity firm received the financial support from the United Kingdom-backed FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi) to unlock nigerian pension funds and catalyse local capital for infrastructure.
It was gathered that 75 per cent of the FSDAi facility would be provided in local currency, a first-of-its- kind approach specifically designed to mitigate the impact of foreign exchange (FX) volatility for pension funds.
This structure is expected to unlock an additional £31 million in pension fund contributions, nearly five times the participation achieved in ARM- Harith’s first fund.
The investment from ARM-Harith and FSDAi introduces an innovative solution to allow Nigerian pension funds to address a longstanding challenge in infrastructure equity finance: the ability to invest while receiving early liquidity.
By enabling predictable interim distributions during the early phases of investment, this innovative facility directly addresses a key barrier that has historically deterred domestic institutional capital from entering the asset class.
“For too long, domestic pension funds have remained on the sidelines of infrastructure equity due to liquidity constraints and heightened perception of risk.
“We are proud to have collaborated with FSDAi to design a pioneering solution that reduces risk for pension funds while delivering both early liquidity and long-term capital growth.
“This is a global first—a groundbreaking private sector-led solution that could fundamentally change how infrastructure equity is financed—not just in Nigeria, but across Africa,” the chief executive of ARM-Harith, Ms Rachel Moré-Oshodi, said.
Also, the Chief Investment Officer of FSDAi, Ms Anne-Marie Chidzero, said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with ARM-Harith to showcase how risk- bearing capital from a market-building investor like FSDAi can be strategically structured to unlock domestic institutional capital. This approach strengthens Africa’s financial markets and facilitates capital allocation towards sustainable, green economic growth across the continent.”
On his part, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Mr Jonny Baxter, said, “The UK government, through its bilateral and investment vehicles is committed to continue to support the country’s financial sector — developing domestic capital markets as a means of financing priority sectors and driving economic development.
“Local currency capital helps mitigate the impact of foreign exchange volatility, narrows the financing gap, supports diversification into new asset classes and into climate- related projects and social sectors – while providing long-term funds to growing businesses.”
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