The Debt Management Office had recently announced on its website on Thursday that it won three awards at the EMEA Finance Achievement Awards 2022.
Amid the ballooning debt profile in the country, the DMO was awarded the Best Sovereign Borrower of 2022.
According to Corporate Finance Institute, “Sovereign debt is the government debt of a country, a sovereign nation. It is also referred to as government debt, national debt, public debt, or country debt. The sovereign debt of a country consists of all its debt liabilities to both domestic and foreign creditors.”
Other awards won by the DMO included Best Sovereign Bond in EMEA for Nigeria’s $4bn triple-tranche Eurobond issuance and Best Local Currency Bond in EMEA for the Federal Government of Nigeria N250bn SUKUK.
These awards occurred amid rising debt and downgraded ratings by credit rating agencies, such as Moody’s and Fitch.
Earlier this year, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Nigeria’s rating further as the global credit ratings agency expected the government’s fiscal and debt positions to worsen as the government grapples with fiscal strain.
As the country’s capacity to weather the storm remains eroded by institutional vulnerabilities and social challenges, the agency rated the country a level lower at Caa1, sinking Nigeria deeper into its non-investment grade from the country’s previous and worrisome rating of B3.
(Upshotreporters)