Minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun, has revealed that the federal government in the next four weeks will begin the first issuance of its dollar-denominated security of $500 million.
He said the security “is aimed at attracting foreign currencies held by Nigerians abroad as the federal government has no plans of raising euro bonds from the international market,”
Edun, who disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, said that the Federal Government has improved its fiscal management, with the economy positively turning the corner, leading to stable exchange rate, and positive trade balance.
“The fiscal management has also improved liquidity and the availability of foreign exchange in the Nigerian economy. And of course, the NAFEM (Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market) rate and the parallel market
rate have converged. We now have effectively one exchange rate, importantly, the investment climate has improved and this has helped to bring in investment,” he said.
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Edun also disclosed that the debt service ratio has plunged from a staggering 97% in June 2023 to a more manageable 68% in 2024.
He said, “The substantial reduction in debt servicing costs frees up significant resources for critical sectors such as infrastructure, education, healthcare, and social services, adding that it also enhances the government’s credibility with investors and international financial institutions.”
He added that the country’s overall debt, a combination of domestic and foreign obligations, “have decreased, stressing that the dollar debt has also decreased from $181 million to $98 million,”
On the revenue front, Edun added that non- oil income has witnessed unprecedented growth,
surpassing the previous year’s performance by a remarkable 30%.
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