JPMorgan Rating Could Mean Nigeria's New $950m Loan from International Market Will be Very Expensive
- Nigeria is set to return to the international debt market in May to raise $950 million via Eurobonds
- However, it appears things may become tougher since JP Morgan, an international respected bank, has stopped promoting Nigeria to investors
- This might imply that Nigeria will have to provide a higher interest rate to entice investors, resulting in highly expensive debt
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JPMorgan, an American multinational investment bank, has removed Nigeria from its list of emerging market sovereign recommendations, according to Reuters.
The bank said Nigerian financial woes are a problem hence investors shouldn't be ‘overweight’.
An overweight investment is an asset or industry sector that makes up a larger percentage of a portfolio or index than is typical.
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When a bank gives an asset an overweight recommendation, it means the bank believes the asset will outperform its sector in the coming months.
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However, Nigeria was removed from the bank’s “overweight” emerging market sovereign recommendations due to the country’s failure to take advantage of high oil prices.
JP Morgan analysts said:
“NNPC did not transfer any revenue to the government from January to March this year, due to petrol subsidies and low oil production, as it moved Nigeria’s debt out of the bank’s ‘overweight’ category.
“Nigeria’s fiscal woes amid a worsening global risk backdrop have raised market concerns despite a positive oil environment."
The implication
The comments on Nigeria are coming at a time the Federal government is reported to be planning another Eurobond sale of $950 million in May 2022, Dailytrust reports.
Nigeria successfully issued the continent’s first Eurobond in 2022, raising $1.25bn in March at the cost of 8.375 per cent which many financial analysts considered a premium price.
It is expected that the latest plan to tap the international debt market could even be more expensive as Nigeria will need to increase its interest to attract investors.
Nigeria's 2022 budget is riddled with corruption as BudgIT discovers over N378bn hidden duplicated projects
Meanwhile, Nigeria's civic tech organisation, BudgIT revealed that out of 21,108 capital projects in the 2022 approved budget, 460 are duplicated projects worth over N378.9billion.
The budget tracker also raised alarm about over-inflated projects amounting to billions of Naira directly linked to the State House and the Presidency.
According to Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s Country Director the loopholes for fraud in the 2022 FG budget is a crime against the 86million Nigerians living below the poverty line.
Source: Legit.ng
