Abuja — Nigeria will next year revive the USD 500 million Eurobond sale it suspended this year, the minister of Finance, Mansur Muhtar has said.

He said this will cushion the impact of the global economic crisis. "The bond sale is part of the way "we" finance the budget deficit, which will reach 1.56 trillion naira (USD 10.4 billion), or 4.8 per cent of GDP, in 2010.

Muhtar who said this in an interview, did not provide details on the bonds coupon, which banks are now preparing and when it will be sold.

The bond sale came as the West African nations, under the African Growth Opportunity Act(AGOA), yesterday announced a 4.1 trillion-naira budget for next year, about a quarter bigger than the 2009 budget.

The federal government suspended the planned sale of bonds in March, seven months after it was first announced.