Nigeria raises more than planned from bills as foreigners buy debt

 

NIGERIA’S central bank on Wednesday raised more money from an auction of treasury bills than originally planned after it received subscriptions for almost four times the amount of debt initially on offer, traders said.
The bank raised N215.88 billion ($686 million) at the auction, N75 billion more than planned, with the one-year paper accounting for most of the debt. Total subscription at the auction stood at N559 billion.
Investors bid as much as 18.9 percent for the one-year debt and as low as 13.15 percent for the three months note.
The bank raised N22.78 billion in three month bills at 13.15 percent, N24.74 billion in six month bills at 16.8 percent and N168.36 billion in one-year bills at 17 percent.
Traders said foreign investors sold dollars last week in anticipation of the auction, boosting demand for the bills and also liquidity on the currency market.
However currency market liquidity waned on Wednesday as some international investors were waiting to see where they yields would end up, they said.
The central bank issues treasury bills twice a month to help the government fund its budget deficit, support commercial lenders in managing liquidity and curb inflation.

(Reuters)