Data on the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Friday showed that the nation’s external reserves remained on the upswing after months of decline soon after peaking at $47.865bn on May 10, 2018.
According to information on the CBN website, the reserves level closed at $42.485bn, representing a rise by $962.239m, or 2.32% on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, from $41.523bn 13 days earlier on November 22.
The sustained rise is linked to proceeds of the Federal Government’s $2.86bn Eurobond issue, the latest in the series, which achieved three-fold oversubscription by leading global institutional investors.
The subscription rate was described by Finance Minister, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed as a demonstration of confidence among global institutional investors, with a peak combined order book of over $9.5bn.
A breakdown of the notes, showed that “a $1.18bn 7-year series, $1bn 12-year series and a $750m 30-year series. The 7-year series will bear interest at a rate of 7.625%, while the 12-year series will bear interest at a rate of 8.75% and the 30-year series will bear interest at a rate of 9.25%.”
In each case, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO), “they will be repayable with a bullet repayment of the principal on maturity. The offering is expected to close on or about 21 November 2018, subject to the satisfaction of various customary closing conditions.
“The Republic intends to use the proceeds of the Notes towards funding of the fiscal deficit and other financing needs. The Notes represent the Republic’s sixth Eurobond issuance, following issuances in 2011, 2013, two in 2017 and one in early 2018 and its first triple-tranche offering.”