Nigeria plans to raise $2.5 bln in Eurobond in November

All things being equal, Nigeria plans to knock on the doors of foreign investors before the end of the year to borrow additional $2.5 billion in Eurobond, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO) director general, Patience Oniha on Thursday.
This was part of moves to help the Africa's biggest economy plug the gap in its budget proposal which it currently finding it difficult to provide cash-backing for some of its projects.
The West African country has signed into law a budget proposal worth 7.44 billion naira in June after the parliament passed the executive bill in May.
The budget proposed a deficit of around 2.36 billion naira half of which it said will borrowing from international market including multilateral institutions, while the balance is expected to be sourced from the domestic market.
The spending proposal was designed to help hasten Nigeria out of recession and fuel economy recovery to ease pressure on the most populous black nation growing population.
The planned Eurobond issue is expected to complement the $1.5 billion raised in Eurobond sales in February and March.
Oniha, who spoke at a conference in Lagos, also noted that Nigeria currently has a Treasury bill portfolio worth 3.7 trillion naira and plans to refinance it with foreign borrowing to reduce pressure on the domestic market.
Nigeria's total debt stock stood at $64.19 billion at the end of June, up 2.5 percent from $62.54 billion at the end of March, this year.
Nigeria's external borrowing accounted for 23.44 percent of the total debt, while the domestic portion accounted for 76.56 percent.
A breakdown of the debt profile of African biggest economy indicated that foreign borrowing stood at $15.06 billion, while domestic debt portion was $49.15 billion.
There has been outcry by many Nigerians over the rate at which the present administration of President Mohammadu Buhari ramps up debt without significant projects to show for it.