By Francis Ogwo
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has repaid the $500m Eurobond loan of 6.7% and also paid $96m as part of the $500m loan taken in 2012 for Abuja-Kaduna Railway.
This was made public on Wednesday by the Debt Management Office (DMO), which also stated that the 6.75% $500M Eurobond matured on January 28, 2021 and will be redeemed.
According to sources, the funds have been made available by the Federal Government of Nigeria to the Fiscal Agent to repay the principal sum of $500 million and final interest payment on the Eurobond.
The statement from the DMO read: “By this development, Nigeria continues to demonstrate in practical terms, its commitment towards honouring all its debt service obligations as and when due.”
Note that the 6.75% $500M January 2021 Eurobond which was issued in January 2011 was Nigeria’s first move into the International Capital Market (ICM).
The bond issuance according to reports aided in the country’s diversification of sources of funding as it successfully raised a total of $10.668 billion from the international capital market thereafter, making a total of $11.168 billion to finance the implementation of the federal budgets.
Further details from the DMO said the Eurobond has added value to Nigeria’s External Reserves, adding that “equally important, a number of private sector operators, notably Nigerian Banks, have raised US Dollar funds from the ICM following Nigeria’s debut Eurobond in January 2011.”
Note that a Eurobond is an international bond that is denominated in a currency not native to the country where it is issued.
