The Debt Management Office (DMO) Thursday raised N111 billion in 2019 and 2022 at a bond auction.

Reuters said that the debt instrument, which was the debt office’s second this year, had yields on the 2019 bonds marginally higher than at its previous auction, while yields fell on the 2012 bonds.

The debt office said it auctioned N35 billion each, in the 10-year bonds due to mature in 2019 and 2022, while it issued an additional N41 billion in 2022 maturity paper in a non-competitive sale.

The 2019 bonds were sold at a marginal rate of 16.16 per cent, higher than the 16 per cent they yielded at the previous auction, while the 2022 instruments were issued at 15.89 per cent compared with 16.39 per cent at the January auction, the debt office added.

Two of the instruments are re-openings of previous issues. Total subscription at the auction stood at N141.65 billion compared with N109.35 billion at the previous auction.
An official of the DMO, according to Reuters, said the N41 billion worth of bonds in 2022 were sold to some mandate customers with large volumes of funds outside the auction proper.

“Usually, mandate customers are not allowed to participate in the auction, but are given special allotment so that they will not crowd out other investors,” the official said.

The DMO said the original coupon rates of 16.39 per cent each for the October 2019 and January 2022 would be maintained.

Source: Thisday/Obinna Chima