₦airaland Forum

This, I think is good news. A small amount of money being borrowed, but as the article indicates, will better help investors both home and abroad set interest rates. If this increases our access to foreign capital, I think it will be well worth it.

I'd like to see what Katsumoto and others with economic/business training think of this.

Nigeria will start meeting investors in London tomorrow to build support as President Goodluck Jonathan’s victory in a primary election boosts confidence in the political stability of the country.
Nigeria will seek to raise $500 million after Finance Minister Olusegun Aganga meets with investors, his spokesman, Bayo Adeniji said by phone from Abuja, yesterday.
The proposed bonds will mature in 10 years, said Jeremy Brewin, who helps manage $2.5 billion at Aviva Investors in London and was among the investors who received notice of the meetings.
The continent’s biggest oil exporter is pushing ahead with its bond sale plans, first announced in September 2008, as crude trades near the highest level in two years and before the final presidential election scheduled for April 9. President Jonathan won the nomination of the ruling People’s Democratic Party on January. 14, ending uncertainty over his candidacy.
“Jonathan has just had a resounding victory in the PDP primaries, so that element of political risk will for the moment at least not be at the forefront of investors’ minds,” Razia Khan, head of Africa regional research at U.K.-based Standard Chartered Bank, said by phone, yesterday.
The bonds of the world’s biggest cocoa producer declined 0.2 per cent to 37.667 cents on the dollar as of 1:38 p.m. in Abidjan, the commercial capital, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That drove the yield on the 2.5 percent debt due 2032 up 3 basis points to 16.876 percent.
Nigeria is rated B+ by Standard and Poor’s, four levels below investment grade. Senegal, a similarly rated West African country, has $200 million of dollar bonds due in 2014 that yield 8.543 per cent, according to prices on Bloomberg.
Nigeria may get a lower yield at 6 to 6.5 per cent for 10-year notes, Stuart Culverhouse, chief economist at Exotix Ltd., a London-based brokerage, said in a phone interview, yesterday.
“Investors would prefer a larger issue say of $1 billion or $750 million,” Culverhouse said. A $500 million issue may not be “particularly liquid,” he said. Nigerian officials will meet investors in two cities in the U.S. after London, Adeniji said, without providing further details.
The country’s credit quality may suffer if it is drawn into any military conflict resulting from the political crisis in Ivory Coast, said David Damiba, managing director of London_ based Renaissance Asset Managers, with $150 million of assets in Africa. Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States pledged on Dec. 24 to use military force to remove Gbagbo from power if he refused to step down. Military leaders from the region are due to meet this week in Mali to discuss possible intervention plans.
An eventual Ivory Coast default would be “an independent event” that shouldn’t affect the pricing of other regional bonds, Damiba said. Nigeria, sub_Saharan Africa’s second_largest economy, plans to use the Eurobond as a benchmark for local companies to price debt and fund development projects, Aganga said in September. The country appointed Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG to manage the bond sale, helped by Barclays Capital and FBN Capital Ltd.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/nigeria-plans-10-year-bond-in-first-foreign-sale/

Link to article: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/fashola-initiates-social-health-insurance-scheme/

I actually don't completely understand what is going on here, the article seems a bit scattered and poorly written.

However, increased access to healthcare is a good thing. Up BRF, up Lagos!

Not just Nigerians, black people in general. . . seems like it would be much rarer amongst us. I don't have evidence to back this up, just a gut feeling.

She looks pretty good for her age.

Sorta sucks. Maybe a monday instead?

All of this wouldn't be a big deal if it were possible to vote via mail, or vote beforehand. . .

Eh, I'm skeptical of their chances.

^--

Very sad.

Question: Why do they flare the gas rather than capturing it and selling it?

Damn.

I do not know what to say. . .

debosky:
Fair enough, but I have a question for you - do you support Fashola? The reason I ask is because he is a direct result of the 'anti-democracy' you are harping about. He was 'selected' by Tinubu, just as these other candidates are being 'selected' now.

Sometimes bad processes produce good results. But does that mean we should stay with an undemocratic, bad process rather than a good one? Seems a bit silly, no?

[quote author=Kilode?! link=topic=586152.msg7550391#msg7550391 date=1295285544]Don't get too excited.

Danladi and I can ignore the current road-route, bypass Ekiti completely and take the rail through Ibadan or Akure via Ikare to Kabba and onward to Lokoja and Abuja [/quote]

We shall see. I don't need Danladi to get this done, I can find another group of investors

1. In 1957, the North threatened to secede if independence was granted to Nigeria because they were not ready. Zik, was supposed to have reached an understanding with Awo to let the North go. But to Awo’s consternation, Zik formed an alliance with the North which succeeded in delaying independence and allowed the North to get ready.

Zik, simply an asshat. F him.