The Debt Management Office on Thursday said it had sold N90bn ($572.70m) worth of debt paper, maturing in 2014, 2017 and 2022, at its regular auction, with mixed returns on the bonds.

The debt office specifically said it had sold N20bn in the bond due to mature in March 2014, and N35bn each in paper due to mature in April 2017 and 2022 respectively.

The 2017 bond, which was a fresh issue, has a coupon of 15.10 per cent, while the 2017 and 2022 paper pay a rate of 14.94 and 15.47 per cent respectively.

Reuters reported that two of the instruments were re-opening of previous issues, while the 2017 bond was a fresh offer.

The 2014 note had attracted a coupon of 15.50 per cent at the last time it was issued in October 2011, the 2022 one attracted 15.41 per cent at the previous auction.

“The original coupon rates of 10.50 per cent and 16.39 per cent for the March 2014 and January 2022 respectively will be maintained, while the coupon rate for the April 2017 is set at 15.10 per cent,” the DMO said.

The debt office issues sovereign bonds monthly to support the local bond market, create a benchmark for corporate issuance and fund its budget deficit.

Early last month, the DMO raised N111bn ($703.73m) at a bond auction, which was the second this year, with yields on the 2019 bonds marginally higher than its previous auction, while yields fell on its 2012 bonds.

The Punch had reported that the debt office as saying in a statement that it auctioned N35bn each in the 10-year bonds due to mature in 2019 and 2022, while it issued an additional N41bn 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,” DMO had said.

Source: Punch