‘Nigeria Has No Plans to go to Eurobond Market’ – TheNigerialawyer

The Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Mrs.
Patience Oniha, has stated that Nigeria has no plans of returning
to the eurobond market this year, after a sixth outing in November
raised $2.86 billion.

Nigeria approved a three-year plan in 2016 to borrow more from
abroad. It wants 40 percent of its loans to come from offshore
sources to lower borrowing costs and help to fund record-high
budgets.

Oniha, who was reportedly asked at an Islamic finance conference
in Lagos whether the government would consider a US dollar-
denominated Eurobond, said: “For 2019, given the process, I would
say no. Foreign borrowing for the 2019 budget is set at N802
billion ($2.7 billion).”

Reuters reported that Nigeria, which emerged from recession last
year, has borrowed abroad and at home over the past three years to
help finance its budgets and fund infrastructure projects, but debt
servicing cost is also rising.

The government had said it wanted to tap concessionary long-term
loans to finance its 2019 budget in addition to borrowing at
home.

It sold $3 billion in eurobonds in 2017, part of which it used
to fund its budget that year. It then followed with a $2.5 billion
eurobond sale last year to refinance local currency bonds at lower
cost.