Nigeria to repay $500mn Eurobond, eyes debt market

ABUJA: Nigeria will repay a $500 million Eurobond maturing this month with proceeds of a local bond raised in the fourth quarter and is also monitoring international debt market for new issues by frontier countries, the head of the country's debt office said.

Sub-Saharan African governments will return to international capital markets this year with Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria to issue bonds as investors once again are expected to embrace more risk, the Institute of International Finance has said.

The West African country was also monitoring the terms of foreign bond and has no issues accessing dollars to repay the maturing bond, Patience Oniha, director general of the Debt Management Office (DMO), told Reuters.

Nigeria is facing its worst recession in 40 years brought on by an oil price crash, which has hammered its currency, created large financing needs and caused chronic dollar shortages, frustrating businesses and individuals.

The government had planned a Eurobond issue early last year to fund its budget deficit and refinance the $500 million eurobond before it decided to defer the sale due to the turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The West African country held its last Eurobond sale in 2018, its sixth such issue, where it raised $2.86 billion.