Nigeria raised $2.2 billion with its first eurobond sale since February 2022, attracting demand for more than four times the amount on offer.
Africa’s biggest oil producer offered two maturities: a 6.5-year note that priced at 9.625%, and a 10-year issue that sold at 10.375%, Nigeria’s Debt Management Office said in an emailed statement late Monday. It raised $700 million in the shorter issue and $1.5 billion in the longer-dated paper, according to the statement.
“The transaction attracted a peak orderbook of more than $9 billion,” with demand from a combination of fund managers, insurance, pension and hedge funds as well as banks and other financial institutions, it said.
African borrowers have returned to international debt markets this year after a two-year hiatus in which most governments were locked out by debt distress and the punitive cost of borrowing. The Nigerian sale follows offerings by countries including Benin, Ivory Coast, Kenya and South Africa.
Measures taken by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s government over the past 18 months have resulted in the yield spread of its sovereign bonds over US Treasuries narrowing by more than 153 basis points, after reaching a high of 713 basis points on Aug. 5, according to the JPMorgan EMBIG Nigerian Sovereign Index.
Since his inauguration May 2023, Tinubu has allowed a more flexible exchange rate and ended gasoline subsidies, while the central bank has embarked on an aggressive interest-rate hiking cycle in a bid to curb inflation that’s near a three-decade high. The policy measures have drawn praise from international investors as well as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, while triggering protests in the nation that hosts the most number of poor people globally.
Proceeds from the issue will be used to partly finance an expected budget deficit of 9.18 trillion naira ($5.86 billion) this financial year, Tinubu said in a proposal sent to lawmakers last week.
Chapel Hill Denham, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Standard Chartered Plc acted as joint bookrunners, while FSDH Merchant Bank Ltd. was the financial adviser.
Nigeria deferred a planned $950 million Eurobond issue in May 2022 because of unfavorable yields, after raising a first tranche of $1.25 billion of seven-year paper at a yield of 8.375% in the same year. It shelved another planned issue earlier this year and instead sold dollar bonds in the domestic debt market, raising $900 million at a yield of 9.67%.
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Nigeria Raises $2.2 Billion in First Eurobond Issue Since 2022
Thursday, November 28, 2024
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Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Nigeria boat accident leaves five dead, 20 missing
At least five people were killed and 20 others are missing after a speedboat struck a submerged log and capsized in Nigeria's southern state of Delta, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The incident happened on Friday in the remote Gbaramatu Kingdom of the state's Warri South-West district.
Emergency responders are still conducting a search and rescue operation to find the 20 missing people. Six survivors are receiving treatment at a local hospital.
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At least 60 dead in Nigeria boat accident
Oldest Catholic priest in Nigeria dies at 104
Oleghe died in the early hours of Nov. 24, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the bishop of the Diocese of Auchi announced in a statement.
“With gratitude to God for a life well lived on earth I hereby inform you of the passage of the Rt. Rev. MSGR Thomas Oleghe the oldest Catholic priest in Nigeria as of today, to the great beyond at about 2.30 a.m. this morning on the 24th of November, 2024,” Bishop Gabriel Ghiakhomo Dunia wrote in the statement.
The bishop announced that the funeral for Oleghe will be Nov. 27.
“May his lovely and gentle soul continue to rest in perfect peace. Amen,” Dunia prayed.
Born in February 1920, Oleghe was ordained a priest in December 1957. He served in various parishes in the Auchi diocese including St. John The Apostle Igarra Parish where he initiated reforms that laid the foundations of the glorious status of the church today.
In a statement, the former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki eulogized Oleghe as a “great missionary of the Catholic faith.”
“I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of the oldest Catholic priest in Nigeria, Msgr. Thomas Oleghe,” Obaseki said.
“He was a dedicated and compassionate priest who worked for the growth of the Christian faith and the development of his community. He remained an inspiration to many and a model that a lot of young people looked up to,” he said.
“I celebrate his impactful service to God and humanity, working and commend his work in the Lord's vineyard in Edo State, where he served for many years promoting peace and development,” Obaseki added.
Commiserating with Bishop Dunia and the entire Nigerian Catholic community Obaseki prayed that “God will grant all the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”
Meanwhile, the senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, expressed sorrow over the passing of the priest.
In a statement, Oshiomhole described Oleghe as a “paragon of priestly humility and a steadfast champion of Christian values.”
He said the late Catholic priest’s life was a “shining testament to the virtues of faith, humility, and devotion.”
“His transition is a profound loss, not just to our diocese but to the nation at large. Even as we mourn him, we are comforted by the assurance that his impactful life resonated with God, who blessed him with
longevity before calling him to eternal rest,” Oshiomhole said.
By Jude Atemanke, CNA