High Investors’ Interest In Fresh $2.2bn Eurobonds Excites Federal Gov’t

The federal government has expressed joy over the global investios’ interest to invest in the government’s fresh $2.2 billion Eurobonds set for offer in the international market.

The government announced the successfull pricing of $2.2 billion in the Eurobonds maturing in 2031 (6.5-ycar) and 2034 (10year) in the international capital markets on December 2, 2024, with $700 million and $1.5 billion placed in the 2031 and 2034 matunties, respectively.

According to a statement that was issued by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday night, the 6.5-year and the 10-year were priced at a coupon and re-offer yield of 9.625 per cent and 10.375 per cent, respectively,

“Nigeria is pleased to have attracted a wide range of investors from multiple jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and participation from Nigerian investors, which it views as an expression of continued investor confidence in the country’s sound macro-economic policy framework and prudent fiscal and monetary management,” the DMO stated.

The transaction reportedly attracted a peak orderbook of more than $9 billion. The debt office said it underscored the strong support tor the transaction across geography and investor class.

With respect to investor class, demand came from a combination of fund managers, insurance and pension funds, hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions, according to DMO.

The statement quoted the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the Economy, Mr. Olawale Edun of saying, “Today’s successful issuance signposts mcreasing confidence in ongoing efforts of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, administration to stabilize the Nigerian economy and position ut on the path of sustainable and inclusive growth for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“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 national capital markets.”

For the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, the outcome underscored the growing confidence of investors and the resilience of the Nigeria credit, “and evidence of our improved liquidity position and continued access tw international markets to support the financing needs of the government”.

Commenting on the notes’ pricing, the Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha, said: “With the successful pricing of the Notes on intra-dav basis, Nigeria has registered a landmark achievement in the international capital market. the size of the orderbook at approximately 4.18x of the offer amount, and the strong and diverse investor base helped to price the new 6.5¥¥ at 9.625%, while new 10-vear Notes was priced at 10.375%.

“The DMO remains committed to maintaining transparency and open communication with investors and stakeholders and appreciates the continued confidence and support of the international and Nigerian investors who participated in the pricing.”

The notes were billed to be admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and available to trade on the London Stock Exchange’s regulated market, the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited and the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

Ms Oniha said proceeds from the eurobond issuance will be used to finance the 2024 fiscal deticit and support the government’s budgetary needs.

Nigeria mandated Chapel Hill Denham, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered Bank as joint bookrunners. FSDH Merchant Bank Limited acted as Financial Adviser on the issuance.