Nigeria plans to sell N236.66 billion ($777.1 million) of short-dated treasury bills at an auction on June 14, the central bank said on Wednesday.
The bank said it plans to sell N39 billion of three-month debt, N23.02 billion of six-month bills and N174.64 billion of one-year notes, using a Dutch auction system. Payment will be due the day after the auction.
Nigeria’s central bank issues treasury bills twice a month to finance a budget deficit, help manage commercial lenders’ liquidity and curb rising inflation.
Nigeria, grappling with its first recession in 25 years which was largely brought on by low oil prices and the impact of attacks on energy facilities in the Niger Delta, plans to spend about 7.44 trillion naira this year.
The West African country expects a budget deficit of about 2.21 trillion naira this year as it tries to spend its way out of a recession, with more than half the deficit to be funded through local borrowing. The Federal Government’s budget deficit ballooned to a 12-month high in the first three months of 2017, after officials raised debt at a frantic pace to shore up ailing revenues.
The debt management office say the country’s total debt rose to N19.15 trillion as of March 2017, from N17.36 trillion at the end of last year.
REUTERS
