Nigeria to issue 205 bln naira in treasury bills next week

Nigeria plans to issue 204.95 billion naira ($651.7 mln) in treasury bills at an auction on July 19, the central bank said.
The bank aims to raise 36.78 billion naira in three-month bills, 39.17 billion naira in six-month paper and 129 billion naira in one-year bills.
Nigeria's central bank issues treasury bills twice a month to help the government to finance its budget deficit, curb money supply growth and provide an avenue for lenders to manage liquidity.
Africa's biggest economy expects its budget deficit to hit 2.36 trillion naira this year as it tries to spend its way out of recession, with more than half the deficit financed through local borrowing.
Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun on Tuesday said that Nigeria should not borrow more to fund its budget and instead raise the money it needs by other means.Nigeria's debt office plans to use $483.4 million to service its foreign debt over a 10-year period and make repayments starting from next year as its dollar debts begin to mature, while it projects debt service repayments to amount to a total of $4.47 billion to be made in 2018, 2021 and 2023.
Africa's largest economy is in its first recession in 25 years, and had planned to borrow extensively from overseas to fund a record budget aimed at helping the country spend its way out of its economic doldrums.

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