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By Daniel Adaji
The Federal Government, in partnership with BNY Mellon Corp. and Standard Bank Group Ltd., has launched global depositary notes backed by Nigerian sovereign debt denominated in naira.
This move, according to a statement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday, aims to open Nigeria’s local debt market to a wider pool of international investors.
The new instrument allows foreign investors to access Nigeria’s high-yielding government debt through global financial clearing systems like Euroclear and Clearstream. This marks a major step in deepening foreign participation in the country’s fixed income market.
According to Bloomberg, Nigeria sold 182-day treasury bills on June 4 at a yield of 18.5%, while its 2033 benchmark bond was trading at a yield of 19.33% as of Wednesday — among the highest returns in emerging markets.
Chris Kearns, global head of depositary receipts at BNY Mellon, said, “The programme is expected to help unlock investment potential across Africa and contribute to the development of capital markets on the continent.”
By offering structured, tradable access to naira debt, the initiative seeks to improve transparency, ease of entry, and investor confidence in Nigeria’s fiscal instruments.