By Akin Akinremi
There was cause for celebration Monday, when the Federal Government issued its first diaspora bond in the international capital market, raising the sum of $300 million at coupon rate of 5.625 per cent for a tenor of five years.
The Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, explained in a statement Monday that the diaspora bond, which was 130 per cent subscribed, was targeted principally at Nigerians abroad, to provide them with the opportunity to contribute to national development.
According to Nwankwo, the bond was structured as a retail instrument to appeal to a wide range of investors and was offered through private banks and wealth managers, rather than institutional investors, which normally deal in large volume transactions
