Nigeria Said to Plan Bond Investor Meetings in London Next Week

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Nigerian officials are meeting bond investors in London next week, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the government considers tapping international debt markets to help finance its record budget deficit.

Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun will head the meetings on June 7, which have been arranged by Standard Chartered Plc, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because he’s not authorized to comment publicly. Abraham Nwankwo, head of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, Dami Adesanya, an adviser at the finance ministry, and a representative of the central bank will be part of the Nigerian delegation, according to the person.

The government plans to raise about $5 billion of external debt this year to help fund a 6.1 trillion naira ($31 billion) budget that’s meant to stimulate its contracting economy. Adeosun said in April that Nigeria was considering a debut yuan-denominated bond as it may be cheaper than dollar-debt.

Nigeria last issued a Eurobond in mid-2013. Yields on its $500 million of securities maturing in July 2023 rose 8 basis points to 7.49 percent at 9:28 a.m. in London. Through yesterday, the bonds had returned 11 percent this year, compared with an 8.6 percent average gain for high-yielding emerging-market sovereign debt tracked by Bloomberg.

Source: Bloomberg Business News