The Federal government plans to refinance up to N3.6 trillion local debt in 2020, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
The refinancing includes some N1.13trn worth of Federal Government Bonds and N2.452trn in Treasury Bills.
Patience Oniha, DMO Director General announced this at a press conference over the weekend in Abuja.
She said the federal government will base its borrowings for the year around the regular FGN, savings and sukuk bonds and may consider green bonds “if the conditions are right.”
Government plans to launch a third tranche of sukuk bonds, but hopes it could raise up to N150bn to enable it fund 44 road projects. The earlier two came at N100bn each and according to Oniha did well.
Federal government 2020 budget projects some N2.175 trillion deficit which authorities say will be funded through N850 billion new foreign and N744.99 billion new domestic borrowings. N328 billion will be sourced through multilateral/bilateral sources and some N252 billion from privatisation proceeds.
“A lot of the external borrowing will be concessional,” Oniha stated.
Meanwhile total debt stock comprising that for the federal government, states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) reached N26.215trn as at September 2019.
The debt size expanded by 2 percent in 3 months between July and September. It was recorded at N25.701trn in June.
Oniha said the total debt stock includes promissory notes totalling N821.651bn which had been issued to settle federal government arrears to oil marketers and state government approved by both the Federal Executive Council and National Assembly.
Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja
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