President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the National Assembly to approve the sale of $3.3 billion in Eurobonds, the Bloomberg is reporting.
This means that Nigeria is marking the potential returnI gotta to debt markets after staying out last year.
Nigeria’s burgeoning foreign debts profile has become a source of growing concern to perceptible Nigerians who are beginning to fear that the country is retiring itself into a debt trap after had exited one in 2005.
Currently, Nigeria pays out about a billion dollars for debt services annually which is already huge for a country whose annual budget is less that $30 billion dollars.
Finance Ministry spokesman Yunusa Abdullahi told Bloomberg a road show for the bond sale will start after the approval of lawmakers.
Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said in December the West African nation was seeking funds for the implementation of the 2020 budget and will first talk to concessional lenders before considering fresh loans.
According to the Bloomberg report, nvestors appetite for high-yielding debt remains strong despite growing concerns about the impact the coronavirus outbreak could have on the economies of high-indebted African nations. Gabon, one of the lowest-rated sovereigns in Africa, sold $1 billion in Eurobonds last month followed by Ghana that sold the longest-ever Eurobond as part of a $3 billion deal.
I addition to this Eurobond request, President Buhari has a request for the approval of $30 billion borrowing plan before the National Assembly.
President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan has given indications that the plan, which rejected by the members of previous assembly will receive approval this time.
