Nigeria is considering a bond sale targeted at its citizens overseas to raise funds to help Africa’s biggest economy narrow its budget deficit, Bloomberg reports.
The government may sell the debt after it repays $300 million of diaspora bonds maturing in June, according to Patience Oniha, director-general of the Abuja-based Debt Management Office.
“We are doing both an analysis of recent research report on diaspora remittances and reviewing offshore regulations for changes that may be supportive of offering products to retail investors,” Oniha said in a text message on Thursday.
Africa’s biggest crude producer sold the first diaspora bonds in June 2017 to boost funding for development projects as well as provide a channel for citizens abroad to contribute to economic growth.
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Issuing a second diaspora bond has been delayed due to “regulatory constraints,” Oniha said, without explaining. Resolving the challenges, “is not a one-day activity,” she said.
Nigeria’s need for borrowing has increased following additional spending to help the economy recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine. The government expects this year’s deficit will widen by an extra 965 billion naira ($2.3 billion) to 7.35 trillion naira, amounting to about 4% of gross domestic product.
