Nigeria will hold a non-deal roadshow in London next week, government sources said on Wednesday, as the economy explores fund-raising options to finance a record budget deficit widened by the fall in vital oil revenues.
Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun and officials from the central bank and debt office will meet investors next Tuesday to update the market on government policies. Standard Chartered Bank is organising the meeting, the source told Reuters.
Nigeria plans to borrow as much as $10 billion from debt markets, with about half of that coming from foreign sources, to help fund a budget deficit worsened by the slump in oil prices that has slashed revenues and weakened the naira.
“It non-deal road-show to explain government policy to investors. There no transaction. It’s been a while since the government came to London to update investors on what happening” he said.
The head of the Debt Management Office told Reuters last week Nigeria is likely to sell a eurobond this year. Nigeria has pushed ahead with some reforms meant to free up cash to invest in badly needed infrastructure, but critics worry about the pace, given the loss of oil revenues and a currency peg that has caused the economy to contract.