Everest Amaefule, Abuja

The Debt Management Office on Thursday said it had raised N90bn towards the implementation of the 2018 budget.

A statement issued by the office in Abuja said it conducted the fourth monthly FGN Bond auctions for the year on Wednesday to raise funds for the implementation of the budget.

Three bonds (five, seven and 10 years) were offered for a total amount of N90bn. Total subscription was N262.48bn, a subscription rate of 292 per cent. Each of the bonds was oversubscribed, with demand for the 10-year bond particularly strong at a rate of 534 per cent.

A total of N90bn was allotted at 12.75 per cent for the five-year bond, 12.85 per cent for the seven-year bond and 12.89 per cent for the 10-year bond.

Interest rates at the auction continued to trend downwards, as was the case at the March 2018 auction, and the rates for all the bonds offered at the April auction were below 13 per cent, the DMO said.

It added that the drop in rates was consistent with its expectations, based on its redemption of Nigerian Treasury Bills, which started in December 2017.

According to the DMO, the funds injected into the market through the redemptions and the lower interest rates are supposed to make credit available to private sector borrowers at lower rates.

This should enable them (the private sector players) to lower their cost of operations and be more competitive in pricing, the office added.

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