Lagos, Dec. 5, 2022 – Nigeria’s domestic debt stood at N20.91 trillion as at June 2022, up from the N17.63 trillion recorded in the same period last year.
The statistics were reported by the CBN Financial Market Half-Year Activity Report 2022 just posted on the apex bank’s website.
The report indicated that the cost of debt servicing had increased by 40.74 per cent to N1.37 trillion at June 2022 from the N977.03 billion recorded in the same period last year due to the increase in borrowings by the federal government.
It reported that a total of $9.30 billion was sold at the foreign exchange market including spot sales worth $4.39 billion or 47.57 per cent and forwards sales of $4.84 billion in the first half of this year
The CBN said that it sustained its interventions in the foreign exchange market during the period to enhance supply of foreign exchange, moderate demand pressures and preserve the value of the naira.
It said that the interventions were made through sales for invisibles, small and medium enterprises and at the Investors’ & Exporters’ window and interbank secondary market intervention sales.
The CBN said it made purchases from autonomous sources, particularly from oil-producing and servicing companies.
It said total subscription of its treasury bills amounted to N10.94 trillion in the first half of this year, while it had offered N7.33 trillion worth of the bills.
It attributed the increase in the subscription to investors’ appetite for risk-free assets and stable yields.
The bank said that the structure of allotment in the first half of the year indicated that commercial banks took up N1.78 trillion or 73.78 per cent, mandate and internal funds customers accounted for N564.50 billion or 23.37 per cent, while merchant banks took up the balance of N68.87 billion or 2.85 per cent.
It said that the three-year N720.00 billion/CNY15.00 billion Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement between the Bank and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), which commenced in July 2018, was renewed in April 2021 for another three-year term.
The CBN said that a total of CNY1.26 billion was sold in 13 auctions during the review period, compared with CNY1.22 billion in 13 auctions in the corresponding period of 2021, thus, bringing the total sales from the inception of the currency swap to June 2022 to CNY7.04 billion.
It reported that the Nigerian stock market remained bullish in the first half of the year as against the bearish trend observed in the corresponding period of 2021.
“The All-Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation opened at 43,026.23 points and N23.18 trillion, respectively in January and increased to close at 51,817.59 points and N27.94 trillion, respectively in June 2022.
“The ASI increased by 8,791.36 points or 20.43 per cent, while the MC increased by 4.76 trillion or 20.53 per cent, while in the corresponding period of 2021, the ASI and MC opened at 41,147.39 points and N21.52 trillion and declined by 3,240.11 points or 7.87 per cent and N 1.76 trillion or 8.18 per cent to 37,907.28 points and N19.76 trillion, respectively at end-June 2021,” the report said. (GBN)
