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Nigeria is first African nation to issue sovereign green bond

The Federal Government of Nigeria Friday issued its pioneer Sovereign Green Bond worth N10.69 billion

Published

5 years ago

July 20, 2018

The Federal Government of Nigeria Friday issued its pioneer Sovereign Green Bond worth N10.69 billion.

This makes the country the first African nation to issue a sovereign green bond, and the fourth nation in the world after Poland, France and Fiji.

The bond was listed on the Financial Markets Dealers Quotations over-the-counter (FMDQ) securities exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to FMDQ, the Sovereign has set a pace for the nation to tap into the huge potential of green finance.

Green bonds are fixed income, liquid financial instruments issued in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment to raise funds towards financing climate mitigation, adaptation and other environment-friendly projects.

The Debt Management Office (DMO), which performed the listings on behalf of the Nigerian government, noted that the bond would be issued at 13.48 percent fixed rate with a tenure till December 22, 2022.

In his keynote address, the Minister of State for Environment, Mallam Ibrahim Jibril, said:

“The Green Bond provides an innovative funding scheme for the FG to address environmental issues in the country.”

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Kenya: Parliament approves appointment of Kamau Thugge as central bank governor

Published

8 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Months after throwing open the position for the country’s top banker, Kenya’s parliament has approved the appointment of Kamau Thugge as the country’s central bank governor.

The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the
appointment of economist and senior civil servant who was nominated by President William Ruto as the next apex bank chief.

Thugge, who served as principal secretary in the finance ministry until mid-2018, was nominated after serving as one of the president’s senior economic advisers since late last year.

He shook off competition from others shortlisted candidates like Adan Mohamed, who served in the cabinet from 2013-2022, with four others also interviewed for the role.

The new central bank governor will be faced with the immediate pressure of stabilizing the country’s monetary policy as the East African giant currently faces a shortage of funds amidst rising public debt.

Despite the odds, the World Bank in a report earlier today expects growth to edge up to 5.0% in 2023, underpinned by a recovery in agriculture.

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Ghana presents ‘working proposal’ for debt restructuring— IMF sources

Published

8 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

West African country, Ghana has made a major move at resolving its debt crisis as the country has presented debt restructuring proposal to its creditors.

According to sources quoted by Reuters, a “working proposal” has been submitted to help the country escape its worst economic crisis in a generation.

One of the sources revealed that the proposal was a first attempt to engage the official creditor committee after its formation in May. It should be recalled that the Paris Club last month announced that official sector of creditors of Ghana had formed a committee co-chaired by China and France for debt restructuring talks.

The plan is to end restructuring of domestic debt before turning to negotiations with its official bilateral creditors and international bondholders, a government official said.

Ghana is one of several cash-strapped countries facing unprecedented delays in getting bailouts as China, its biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.7 billion of debt and Western economies disagree over how debt relief should be structured.

The first formal review of the programme will hold in the coming months as an IMF team will visit Ghana between 8th and 15th of June.