BY VICTORIA ONU, ABUJA
THE Federal Government is set to repay the 6.75 per cent $500m January 2021 Eurobond, which matures on January 28, 2021.
For this purpose, funds have been made available to the Ministry of Finance to repay the principal sum of $500m and final interest payment due on the Eurobond.
The Debt Management Office confirmed the development on Thursday in a statement posted on its website.
By this development, it said, Nigeria had continued to demonstrate in practical terms, its commitment towards honouring all its debt service obligations as and when due.
The 6.75 per cent $500m Eurobond, which was issued in January 2011, was Nigeria’s first foray into the International Capital Market.
The issuance of the Eurobond enabled Nigeria to diversify its sources of funding as it successfully raised a total of $10.66bn from the ICM thereafter, making a total of $11.16bn to finance the implementation of the Federal Budgets.
This is in addition to contributing to Nigeria’s External Reserves.
The DMO noted that a number of private sector operators, notably Nigerian banks, had raised dollar funds from the ICM, following Nigeria’s debut Eurobond in January 2011.
Nigeria had issued the $500 million debut Eurobond in a deal that was heavily oversubscribed.
Investors from 18 countries spanning Europe, the United States, Asia and Africa took up the offer, which was 2.5 times oversubscribed, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance at the time, Olusegun Aganga, who implemented the debut, said.
“This transaction clearly puts Nigeria on the global map. We now have a transparent and internationally observable benchmark against which international investors can accurately price risk,” Aganga had said.
