Finance

FG to Borrow N105bn via Local Bonds

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The Federal Government is planning to borrow N105bn ($345m) in local currency — denominated bonds at an auction on October 12, the Debt Management Office has said.

The DMO said on Tuesday that it would raise N35bn each from debt maturing in 2021, 2026 and 2036, using the Dutch auction system.

All the bonds are re-openings of previously issued debt.

The Federal Government had last week announced plans to raise between N250bn and N340bn in local currency-denominated bonds in the fourth quarter of this year.

The government has estimated that it will borrow around N900bn from the local debt market this year to fund a budget deficit projected at N2.2tn, which has been aggravated by an economic slump as low oil prices slashed government revenues and weakened the naira.

The FG is also planning a $1bn Eurobond issue.

The Central Bank of Nigeria is also planning to borrow N129.67bn ($403.01m) in short-dated Treasury bills at an auction on Wednesday (today).

The CBN said it would raise N28bn in three-month paper, N33.49bn in six-month bills and N68.18bn in one-year bills.

According to a public notice by the lender, payment for the purchases will be made on Thursday.

The Federal Government issues Treasury bills to raise cash to fund the budget deficit, manage banking system liquidity and curb rising inflation.

According to the traders, banks have been resorting to the central bank’s standing lending facility to cover their positions.

The naira closed at 476 against the dollar on Tuesday, marginally down from 475 recorded on Monday.

The naira had fallen to an all-time low of 490 against the dollar at the parallel market early on Friday before recovering to 475 amid the lingering dollar shortage.

At the official market, the naira spot rate closed at 420.31 against the greenback, FMDQ data showed.

The CBN had borrowed N140.88bn ($448m) via short-dated Treasury bills at an auction last Wednesday, attracting lower yields across the board, except on the three-month debt that was flat.

The CBN said it was planning to borrow N1.77bn via Treasury bills in the last three months of the year.

In its fourth quarter Treasury bill issue programme, the apex bank said it would raise about N815.37bn, comprising 91 days, 182 days and 364 days’ debt instruments.

In addition to the above, the central bank is also planning to raise about N952.05bn as rollover in the three categories of the instruments.

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