Nigeria’s Total Debt Stocks Rose to N44.06trn in Q3 2022
According to DMO, Nigeria’s total debt stock has increased to N44.06trn as of September 2022 from N38.00trn in September 2021. The total external debt accounted for N17.15trn, and the total domestic debt was N26.92trn against N15.57trn and N22.43trn in September 2021. Quarterly, debt stock rose by +2.85% from N42.84trn in Q2 2022 to N44.06trn as the country acquired N1.22trn debts between July and September. Also, the country spent N820.59bn on domestic debt servicing, and US$801.23m was spent on external servicing in Q3 2022. The World Bank recently commented that the country’s debt stock might be considered sustainable now but is vulnerable and costly. Thus, the bank projected that debt servicing might gulp 100.2% of the government revenue in 2022 and 123.4% in 2023, eventually squeezing the non-interest spending. The government urgently needs to explore other revenue-generating opportunities to reduce borrowing to avoid higher debt servicing costs.
NLNG Gas Supply Gap Results in Missed Opportunities for Nigeria’s Gas Value Chain
The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has disclosed a 37.5% year-to-date gas delivery deficit out of its 3.5bn cubic feet (bcf) of gas requirement from its 22m tons per annum 6-trains. The supply gap, valued at about 1.3bcf of gas, has adversely affected the company’s domestic and export gas delivery obligations. According to the Deputy MD of the company, Olalekan Ogunleye, Nigeria has missed many opportunities across the gas value chains on inadequate gas feedstocks and production shortfalls. Analysts noted that the gas delivery gap of the NLNG reflects the constraints of the country’s energy transition fuel and the weakness of the transition efforts. This gap particularly points to the shutdown of major pipelines and wells producing associated gas for the key operators. However, analysts expect the recovery in production at major fields to spur feedstock growth for the NLNG and increase export volumes for the country in the near term.
Sustained Bullish Equity Market A Concern for Investors
The Equity market recorded its 5th consecutive bullish Week-on-Week rise as the market recorded a gain of 1.26% to close the previous week at 48,881.93 index points against the 48,154.65 index points recorded the last week. Investors’ buy interest in the market continued as year-to-date (YTD) gains improved to +14.43% and +2.56% month-on-month (M-o-M). Analysts expect selloffs this week as inflation results weigh in on investors’ sentiment (see chart 2 below).
