Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 10-year $500 million debut Eurobond issued by the federal government of Nigeria in 2011 to investors has been repaid.
The Eurobond was redeemed by the federal government after it matured on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
In 2011, Nigeria approached the international debt market to borrow the sum of $500 million through the sale of Eurobond at an annual interest rate of 6.75 per cent.
The final interest payment was made yesterday and the principal sum invested by offshore investors repaid to the bondholders as promised at the point of purchase.
In a statement issued by the Debt Management Office (DMO) yesterday, the bondholders will soon begin to receive alerts of the payment as “funds have been made available by the federal government of Nigeria to the fiscal agent to repay the principal sum of $500 million and final interest payment due on the Eurobond.”
According to the debt office, “By this development, Nigeria continues to demonstrate in practical terms, its commitment towards honouring all its debt service obligations as and when due.”
Recall that the 6.75 per cent $500M JAN 2021 Eurobond issued in January 2011 was the first foray of the country into the international capital market (ICM).
The issuance of the Eurobond enabled Nigeria to diversify its sources of funding as it successfully raised a total of $10.668 billion from the ICM thereafter, making a total of $11.168 billion to finance the implementation of the federal budgets.
This is in addition to contributing to Nigeria’s external reserves. Equally important, a number of private sector operators, notably Nigerian banks, have raised US Dollar funds from the ICM following Nigeria’s debut Eurobond in 2011.
