Nigeria bond auction raises 64 bln naira, less than targeted

LAGOS, March 22 – Nigeria raised 64.06 billion naira ($210 million) at Wednesday’s auction of government bonds , less than it originally planned but at lower yields, traders said.

The government has been working to cut its borrowing costs, particularly as inflation slows. It sold Eurobonds last month to help repay some treasury bills rather than rolling them over as it has done in the past.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) initially aimed to raise 70 billion naira. However, it sold 10.05 billion naira in five-year bonds at 13.40 percent and 45.10 billion naira in 10-year debt at 13.60 percent. It introduced a new seven-year paper at 13.53 to raise 8.91 billion naira.

It drew subscriptions of 142.81 billion naira, more than half skewed towards the 10-year bond. Investors bid as high as 14 percent for the bonds at the auction. ($1 = 305.7500 naira)