FEDERAL GOVT TO BORROW N251B

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MINISTERS
will decide today whether the Federal government should borrow N251.6 billion
to finance Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit.
The
money will be sourced from the issuance of $1 billion Eurobond, $100 million
diaspora bond and N80 billion FGN bonds through syndicated global depository
notes.
The
weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting will get the request for
approval for these finances from the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in a memorandum which she will
present to the council.
The
minister said last week that the government planned “ to prioritise
infrastructure investments and also to leverage additional external financing
for infrastructure investments in the country”.

Mrs.
Okonjo-Iweala explained that the government planned “to augment our domestic
resources with a proposed $1 billion EuroBond as well as a Nigeria Diaspora
Bond, which will harness savings from Nigerians abroad.”
These
additional financial resources she said “will be invested in various
infrastructure projects such as building the country’s gas to power
infrastructure”.
The
government, she added, plans “to use Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)
aggressively, working with the Sovereign Wealth Fund which will attract
co-investors from home and abroad, such as pension funds, institutional
investors and so on” to finance infrastructure.
The
government’s confidence is buoyed by the fact that “Nigeria’s domestic bonds
have gained international prominence, and were recently included in the JP
Morgan and Barclays Emerging Market indices”.
Budget
2013 has some important infrastructure projects in the transportation sector,
such as the second Niger Bridge, which may also be financed with these funds.
Ratification
of the President’s anticipatory approval for the selection of concessionaire/
developer for the reclamation and infrastructural development of FESTAC Phase
II, Lagos (memorandum EC(2013)21 by minister of Lands, Housing and Urban
Development).
Other
matters to be discussed at today’s FEC meeting are the “ review of the Export
Expansion Grant (EEG) scheme, which memorandum will be presented by the
Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga.
Source: The Nation

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