FG has adequate budgetary provisions to meet foreign, local debt obligations – DMO

By Mariam Abeeb

The Debt Management Office (DMO) says the Federal Government has made adequate budgetary provisions to meet the country’s foreign and local debt obligations.
The DMO said this in a statement in Abuja.
According to the office, Nigeria’s debt management practice is in accordance with relevant legislations and regulations in compliance with international practices.
It said that the country had, over the years, serviced its external and domestic debts promptly, which has made Federal Government securities attractive to foreign and local investors.
It cited the recent successfully priced 2.2 billion dollars Eurobonds in the international capital markets, which received a subscription of over nine billion dollars.
“Nigeria attracted a wide range of investors from multiple jurisdictions including the UK, North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and participation from Nigerian investors.
“It is an expression of continued investor confidence in the country’s sound macro-economic policy framework and prudent fiscal and monetary management.
“The transaction attracted a peak orderbook of more than nine billion dollars. This underscores the strong support for the transaction across geography and investor class,” it said.
It said that with respect to investor class, demand came from a combination of fund managers, insurance and pension funds, hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions.
“In addition, one of the landmark achievements of the Eurobond is that it opened up opportunities for banks and other corporate entities in the Eurobond market,” it said.
The DMO said that the increased investors’ interests in the FGN bonds, the sukuk bonds, and other FGN securities also attest to the country’s strict adherence to best practices in debt management.
It assured that there were adequate provisions in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the annual budgets to meet the country’s debt service obligations when due.
It said that through borrowing, Nigeria now had a robust domestic capital market, with many local and foreign investors showing interest.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had said that the successful issuance of the Eurobonds signposted increasing confidence in the ongoing efforts of the government to stabilise the Nigerian economy.
According to Edun, the broad range of investor appetite to invest in our Eurobonds is encouraging as we continue to diversify our funding sources and deepen our engagement with the international capital markets.
Also, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, said that the outcome underscored the growing confidence of investors and the resilience of the Nigeria credit.