FG to sell $500 million of dollar-denominated securities to attract forex from Nigerians in diaspora

The Federal Government has announced plans to sell $500 million of dollar-denominated securities in the domestic market in a bid to strengthen the Naira.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, at an event in Abuja on Thursday, July 25.

The minister said the move is expected to attract investment from Diaspora Nigerians and Nigerians with savings held abroad and will take place in three to four weeks’ time.

According to him, “We have an open exchange rate system, it’s not illegal and so we have the issuance of a dollar-denominated security, not depending on the financial architecture of the Western world, not depending on the kind of architecture that you use to raise Eurobonds.

We’re using the Nigerian financial system, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the banking system, the investment bankers to issue $500 million in the first instance that will be available and will attract foreign currency held by Nigerians abroad and anybody else who buys into the macroeconomic reform efforts of President Bola Tinubu.

That issue is a challenge to the best and the brightest in the financial markets. It is due to open in the next three to four weeks maximum.”

The government is also not considering a eurobond offering, focusing on the dollar bond instead.

“Eurobond is one of the options that we have, the markets are open to us, our ratings and our performance merit it. But we prefer in the first instance to challenge Nigerians to come home with their money and be part of the Nigerian reform success story,” he said.