DMO Selects Banks for $1bn Eurobond Sale

• DMO Selects Banks for $1bn Eurobond Sale

The Debt Management Office has selected some banks to manage the planned sale of $1bn Eurobond, according to a Reuters report.

It was, however, learnt that the Federal Government had yet to make a final decision on the list.

The government is planning to sell $1bn in Eurobonds by the end of the year, although no bank has been appointed yet to arrange the issue.

A government official, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters that the list had been sent to the Bureau of Public Procurement, after which the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, would offer the names to the cabinet for approval.

He did not disclose how long the process might take.

“The names have been picked but it has to go through government process; the issue will happen this year,” he told Reuters.

Adeosun has said that the Federal Government has $500m of commitments for the planned Eurobond and any decision to increase the size of the offer will depend on pricing.

The official said Adeosun met with Moody’s Investors Service on Friday to discuss Nigeria’s ratings before the bond sale.

Moody’s had in April downgraded Nigeria’s sovereign rating to B1 from Ba3, citing risks to government efforts to diversify revenues away from oil, its mainstay.

Citibank and Deutsche Bank managed previous issues by Nigeria in 2010 and 2013.