Barclays adds Nigerian sovereign bonds to emerging-market index

Nigerian sovereign bonds were added to a $1.7 trillion local-currency emerging-market index by Barclays plc.

Ten Nigerian bonds were included in the index on April 1, Jodie Gray, a London-based spokeswoman for Barclays, said by e-mail Tuesday. The debt has a weighting of 0.97 percent at Monday’s close, Gray said. Ten Romanian bonds were also included in the gauge.

Barclays said in November it would add the two nations’ debt to the index after reviewing changes in marketplace and polling investors on governance and market accessibility. Eligibility criteria include having a minimum market size equivalent of $5 billion, while each bond must have at least $300 million outstanding and a minimum 12 months to maturity.

The addition follows Nigeria’s inclusion to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s emerging-market bond index series in October. JPMorgan predicted adding the debt of Africa’s biggest oil producer to its indexes would lure $1.5 billion to the West African nation.

Yields on Nigeria’s bonds due January 2022 have dropped 193 basis points, or 1.93 percentage point, to 10.91 percent since the end of September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

PATRICK ATUANYA