Economy

Sharp Rise in Nigeria’s Debt to Revenue Ratio Worries Fitch

Published

6 years ago

25/06/2020

By Dipo Olowookere

United States-based rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has expressed worry about the sharp increase in the debt to revenue ratio of Nigeria.

A director at Fitch, Mr Mahmoud Harb, informed Reuters in a chat that this and another factor could force his organisation to further downgrade the rating of Africa’s largest economy.

Mr Harb listed the other factor that could trigger a rating lowering as a rising decline in the foreign exchange inflows into the country, which is mainly derived from crude oil sales.

According to Fitch, Nigeria will need not less than $23 billion to meet its external financing needs in 2020 and the few options the nation has is to run down its foreign reserves.

Business Post reports that as at the close of business on Monday, June 22, 2020, Nigeria had $36.260 billion in its reserves, lower than $36.302 billion on Friday, June 19, 2020.

“We have two elements that could lead us to take a negative rating action/downgrade on Nigeria.

“Aggravation of external liquidity pressures and a sharp rise in government debt to revenues ratio,” Mr Harb informed Reuters.

In April 2020, Fitch downgraded Nigeria to “B” with a negative outlook from “B+”. The reason for this action then was an aggravation of pressure on the country’s external finances.

The local authorities in March reviewed the 2020 budget, bringing down the crude oil benchmark to $30 per barrel because of a sharp decline in the price of the commodity at the global market.

Two months after, the government further reduced the threshold to $25 per barrel after prices fell below $20 per barrel at the international space.

The federal government, which had planned to approach the foreign debt market for a Eurobond of $2.36 billion, shelved the plan and converted it to an N850 billion domestic debt programme.

The funds would be sourced from the sale of debt securities like the FGN Bonds, treasury bills and others, with proceeds to be used for the budget deficit.

Recently, it was reported that in the first quarter of 2020, Nigeria’s debt service to revenue ratio stood at 99 percent, meaning that for every N100 generated by the country, N99 was used to service the various debts incurred by the government.

On Monday, Business Post reported that the Debt Management Office (DMO) assured Nigerians that there will never be a situation where China will have to take possession of the projects financed with its loans because of payment default.

According to the DMO, adequate provisions have been made to repay the debts, noting that, “Nigeria explicitly provides for debt service on its external and domestic debt in its annual budgets.”

“In effect, this means that debt service is recognised and payment is planned for.

“In addition, a number of the projects being (and to be) financed by the loans are either revenue generating or have the potential to generate revenue,” the DMO further said.

The debt office had said in a statement last week that as at March 31, 2020, the total borrowing from China stood at $3.121 billion at an interest rate of 2.50 percent per annum, with a 20-year maturity and a 7-year moratorium.

The agency said the low interest rate reduces the interest cost to the government, while the long tenor enables the repayment of the principal sum of the concessional loans over many years.

“These two benefits make the provisions for debt service in the annual budget lower than they would otherwise have been if the loans were on commercial terms,” the debt office said.

Economy

NASD Exchange Rises 1.22% on Sustained Bargain-Hunting

Published

20 hours ago

28/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Strong appetite for unlisted stocks further raised the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.22 per cent on Friday, February 27.

Data revealed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) was up by 49.41 points to 4,083.87 points from 4,034.46 points, and lifted the market capitalisation by N19.56 billion to N2.433 trillion from N2.413 trillion.

The volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 243.0 per cent to 4.5 million units from 1.3 million units, and the number of deals grew by 15.8 per cent to 44 deals from 38 deals, while the value of securities went down by 19.7 per cent to N82.5 million from N102.8 million.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc ended the session as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 35.0 million units valued at N2.1 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.8 million units transacted for N480.4 million.

Resourcery Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.05 billion units sold for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.8 million units valued at N480.4 million, and CSCS Plc with 35.0 million units traded for N2.1 billion.

There were six price gainers yesterday led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N9.02 to close at N111.46 per unui compared with the previous day’s N102.44 per unit, Nipco Plc appreciated by N6.00 to N284.00 per share from N278.00 per share, CSCS Plc recouped N1.87 to sell at N70.12 per unit versus Thursday’s value of N68.25 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc improved by 17 Kobo to close at N3.18 per share versus N3.01 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc advanced by 5 Kobo to sell at N50 Kobo per unit versus the preceding day’s 45 Kobo per unit, and Acorn Petroleum Plc chalked up 2 Kobo to settle at N1.34 per share, in contrast to the previous day’s N1.32 per share.

Economy

FX Liquidity Crunch Sinks Naira to N1,363/$1 at NAFEX, N1,370/$1 at Black Market

Published

20 hours ago

28/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira performed poorly against the United States Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on February 27, closing the week without a gain.

In the black market, the domestic currency weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N5 to close at N1,370/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,365/$1, and at the GT Bank forex desk, it lost N2 to sell N1,369/$1 versus the N1,367/$1 it was sold a day earlier.

Yesterday, the Nigerian Naira lost N3.75 or 0.26 per cent against the greenback at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to trade at N1,363.39/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,359.82/$1.

Also, the Naira depreciated against the Euro at the official market during the session by N2.33 to quote at N1,609.22/€1 versus N1,606.89/€1, and appreciated against the Pound Sterling by N6.74 to settle at N1,836.49/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,843.23/£1.

The Naira’s latest depreciation occurred as FX demand continued to outpace available supply, intensifying pressure in the market.

In response to the negative momentum, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened by selling Dollars to banks and other authorised dealers in an effort to stabilise the local currency. The move came barely a week after the apex bank had purchased about $190 million from the foreign exchange market to temper the Naira’s rally.

Specifically, the CBN injected $200 million into the official market between Tuesday and Wednesday through an intervention call. However, the liquidity support proved insufficient to reverse the currency’s downward trend.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market declined on Friday, with Solana (SOL) down by 10.4 per cent to $78.60, as Dogecoin (DOGE) decreased by 9.5 per cent to $0.0982.

Further, Cardano (ADA) slumped 8.9 per cent to $0.2647, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 8.6 per cent to $1,859.10, Ripple (XRP) shrank by 8.2 per cent to $1.30, Litecoin (LTC) lost 1.4 per cent to close at $52.39, Bitcoin (BTC) slid 5.9 per cent to $63,686.39, and Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 4.9 per cent to $596.64, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.

Economy

Oil Prices Climb on Geopolitical Anxiety

Published

20 hours ago

28/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices rose about 2 per cent on Friday, with traders bracing for supply disruptions as nuclear talks between the United States and Iran were without an agreement.

Brent crude futures settled at $72.48 a barrel after chalking up $1.73 or 2.45 per cent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $67.02 a barrel, up $1.81 or 2.78 per cent.

The two sides agreed to extend indirect negotiations into next week, but traders grew sceptical that an agreement between US President Donald Trump’s administration and Iran was possible.

The US and Iran held indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday after Mr Trump ordered a military buildup in the region.

Oil prices gained during the talks, on media reports indicating that discussions had stalled over U.S. insistence on zero enrichment of uranium by Iran. However, prices eased after the mediator from Oman said the two sides had made progress.

They plan to resume negotiations with technical-level discussions scheduled next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said on X.

Market analysts noted that geopolitical risk premiums of $8 to $10 a barrel have been built into oil prices on fears that a conflict will disrupt Middle East supply through the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20 per cent of global oil supply passes.

To cushion the impact from a possible strike, one of the world’s largest oil producers, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is set to export more of its flagship Murban crude in April, while Saudi Arabia said it would also increase oil production.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia may raise its April crude price to Asia for the first time in five months due to higher demand from India to replace Russian supplies, potentially raising it by about $1 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) is likely to consider raising oil output by 137,000 barrels per day for April at its March 1 meeting, after suspending production increases in the first quarter.

The resumption of output increases after a three-month pause would allow Saudi Arabia and the UAE to regain market share at a time when other OPEC+ members, such as Russia and Iran, contend with Western sanctions while Kazakhstan recovers from a series of oil production setbacks.

Eight OPEC+ producers – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman will meet at the meeting on Sunday.