Gist Coven

Finance minister kemi Adeosun The Federal Government, yesterday, floated $3 billion Euro bond to raise funds from foreign capital in line with the 2017 Budget financing plan. The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, in a statement said it would be in dual series notes under its US$4.5 billion Global Medium Term Note programme. The Notes comprised a US$1.5 billion 10-year series and a US$1.5 billion 30-year series. It explained that the 10-year series will bear interest at a rate of 6.5%, while the 30-year series will bear interest at a rate of 7.625%, which will be repayable with a bullet repayment of the principal on maturity. The offering, which attracted significant interests from leading global institutional investors, is expected to be closed on or about 28 November, 2017, subject to the satisfaction of various customary closing conditions. When issued, the Notes will be admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and available to trade on the London Stock...

Jide Akintunde, managing editor and chief executive officer of Financial Nigeria Magazine, says the 2018 budget presented to a joint session of the national assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, is “worse than nonsense.” Speaking in an interview with Osasu Igbinedion on the Osasu Show, Akintunde said the budget is grossly unrealistic, adding that it will only increase the debt bucket of the country. He said with over 50 percent of the 2017 budget unimplemented, the total appropriation of the 2018 budget will be more that the proposed N8.6trn. “My assessment is that the 2018 budget is worse than nonsense. This budget is exactly what it is given the fact that this government wants to revert to the January-December circle of budget making,” Akintunde said. “If you then look at the statement by the finance minister, that the 2017 budget will be rolled over into 2018, then I will tell you that the total budget that will be implemented in 2018 is not N8.6trn but somewhere around...