Nigeria's Lagos state government has restructured 167.5 billion naira ($840 million) of bonds, potentially saving at least 40 billion by paying off the debt more quickly, its governor said on Wednesday, without saying when payment would be made. Lagos, a megacity of 21 million people in the state of the same name, is Nigeria's commercial hub and generates about a third of its GDP.
The governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, said the restructuring was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week after an agreement was reached with bond creditors. "The transaction will generate savings in excess of 40 billion naira ($201.01 million) for the state over the next five years," he tweeted. The bonds are an 80-billion-naira seven-year bond maturing in 2019 and an 87.5-billion bond that was due to be repaid in 2020, the state government has said. Coupons on the bonds would remain unchanged at 14.5 percent and 13.5 percent respectively. In a statement, Lagos state Finance Commissioner Akinkunmi Mustapha said the restructuring was done through domestic capital markets and "was approved by 99.6 per cent of the state's bondholders at an extraordinary general meeting a few weeks ago".
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