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Govt sells N75bn of domestic bonds
Nigeria plans to raise N75 billion in local bonds with maturities of between five and 10 years at its regular auction on Aug. 15, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said yesterday.. The debt office said it would sell N25 billion apiece of five-, seven- and 10-year bonds with terms to maturity of four years and seven months, six years and nine months, and nine years and four months respectively.
The bonds are re-openings of previous issues. “The DMO reserves the right to alter the amount allotted in response to market conditions,” the debt office said in a public notice.
Nigeria issues sovereign bonds monthly to support the local bond market, create a benchmark for corporate issuance and fund its budget deficit.
Meanwhile, new car imports into the country rose 15 percent in the first half of 2012, compared with the same period last year, as credit flows recovered, dealers said on Monday.
Car sales in Nigeria are a proxy measure for consumer purchasing power and analysts see them as a good indicator of economic growth.
Nigeria's economy grew 6.17 percent in the first quarter of this year, down from 7.68 percent in the fourth quarter last year, according to official figures.
Nigerian port figures showed new vehicle imports increased to 24,158 units in the first six months to June, from 21,024 units in the same period of last year, as bank credit started to trickle in, according to vehicle importers.
Bank credit to the private sector grew 48 percent at the end of June, compared from the same period a year ago, Nigeria's central bank figures showed, boosting demand for big-ticket purchases including vehicles.
Credit flows grew less than two percent in 2010 as Nigeria's banking crisis bit.
Dealers said vehicle imports had started to recover, driven by an increase in passenger cars, after it took a hit at the start of the crisis, with credit sales then almost at zero.
Passenger vehicles accounted for 54 percent of new car imports in the first half, while the remaining were commercial, port figures showed.
Dealers said most consumers in Nigeria rely on bank financing to purchase vehicles and estimated the pent-up demand meant sales could recover sharply as credit recovers, although the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), measures to tighten liquidity this week have pushed up interbank rates, which could hurt lending.
Credit accounted for around 22 percent of a total 75,000 new car imports in 2008, before the bailout.
