Nigeria plans to issue 60 billion naira ($379.75 million) in local bonds, with maturities of between five and seven years at its regular auction on Sept. 19, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Thursday.

The debt office said it would sell 30 billion naira each in re-openings of existing five- and seven-year bonds, which will have terms to maturity of four years and six months, and six years and eight months, respectively. Y

ields on Nigeria’s local debt have fallen over the past month on news JP Morgan will include it in its Government Bond Index – Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) from October. The bank says this could potentially bring up to $1 billion into one of Africa’s most developed debt markets.

Nigeria, Africa’s second-biggest economy after South Africa, issues sovereign bonds monthly to support the local bond market, create a benchmark for corporate issuance and fund its budget deficit. ($1 = 158.00 naira)

Source: Reuters (Reporting by Oludare Mayowa; Editing by Tim Cocks)