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Zimbabwe Treasury Bill auction oversubscribed

Economy

Zimbabwe Treasury Bill auction oversubscribed

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Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s Central Bank says its first Treasury Bill auction in seven years, aimed at raising $3.25 million, had been oversubscribed more than four times its target.

The central bank said on Friday it received 132.7 million Zimbabwe dollars ($3.25 million) in bids for its 91-day Treasury Bill and allotted 30 million Zimbabwe dollars at an average interest rate of 15.6 per cent.

The government had relied on a central bank overdraft and private Treasury Bill sales to fund the budget, which analysts said was opaque and helped drive the deficit to 11.7 per cent of GDP last year.

Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, told parliament on Thursday that the government’s domestic debt was now 8.8 billion Zimbabwe dollars, down from 9.5 billion last year.

Ncube said the economy was expected to contract this year due to a drought, foreign currency shortages and severe power cuts.

The government has also announced a threefold hike in electricity tariffs that will fuel already crippling inflation.

Ncube said the budget deficit would come down to five per cent of GDP this year.

He announced a raft of measures to raise money, including vehicle licence and toll fees, which he said, were necessary after the government removed an official peg to the U.S. dollar in February. (Reuters/NAN)

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