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Ololade Omosan-Agie
The Federal Government has appointed Transaction Advisers for its Eurobond issuance programme.
Typical of Eurobond issuance, Transaction Advisers of various categories are required to work with an issuer, in this case Nigeria, to ensure the success of the transaction.
The institutions approved by the Federal Executive Council at its meeting on Wednesday, to advise on the Eurobond Issuance are JP Morgan, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Standard Chartered Bank and Goldman Sachs.
Others are Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Services Ltd, FSDH Merchant Bank Ltd, White & Case LLP, and Banwo & Ighodalo.
The Debt Management Office confirmed the approval by FEC in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday.
The Transaction Advisers, according to DMO emerged from an Open Competitive Bidding Process as outlined in the Public Procurement Act, 2007 (as amended).
A total of 38 institutions responded to the Expression of Interest, and after rigorous evaluation to ascertain the technical capacities of the responders to execute the Transaction, the eight institutions were selected.
With the approval of the Transaction Advisers by FEC, the DMO will now accelerate activities towards the Issuance of the Eurobonds.
It will be recalled that the Resolutions of the Senate and the House of Representatives, in compliance with the Debt Management Office (Establishment, Etc.) Act, 2003 and Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2003, had earlier been secured.
The Euro-bonds to be issued, are for the purpose of raising funds for the New External Borrowing of N2.343trn (about $6.2bn) provided in the 2021 Appropriation Act to part finance the deficit.
While the Government expects a successful outing, the DMO said it will be mindful of costs and risks (in terms of tenor and pricing) in determining the amount of Eurobonds to issue.
It said since the Eurobonds are being issued to part finance the 2021 budget deficit, the proceeds will be used to fund various projects in the Budget.
In addition, it said the proceeds will result in an inflow of foreign exchange which in turn, will increase Nigeria’s External Reserves and support the Naira exchange rate.
