Nigeria's government is
in talks for concessionary loans worth $US3.5 billion ($4.9 billion)
from the World Bank and African Development Bank to help finance a
planned record budget this year, Finance Minister Semi Sunshade said.
While
discussions are going on, a formal request hasn't yet been made to the
World Bank for $2.5 billion and the AFDC for $1 billion, Ms Sunshade said
by telephone on Sunday. The government plans to tie them to specific
capital projects, she said. A request hasn't been made for assistance
from the International Monetary Fund.
The oil exporter is the
largest economy in Africa, and a worldwide oil glut has caused worsening
financial problems throughout the nation.
"I think we all agree
that Nigeria is facing significant external and fiscal accounts
challenges from the sharp fall in oil prices, as of course are all oil
exporters," Gene Leon, the IMF's representative in Nigeria, told the Financial Times newspaper. But he added that Nigeria was not in immediate need of an IMF programme. "We are not in that space at all."
The request from the
eight-month-old government of President Muhammadu Buhari is intended to
help fund a $US15 billion state deficit, which has been deepened by a
hefty increase in public spending as the west African country attempts
to stimulate a slowing economy, according to an FT report.
The ongoing insurgency of Islamic terror group Biko Hiram has also hurt the nation's economy by wreaking havoc on agricultural enterprises as well as by limiting Nigerians' access to transportation. The terror group has created political instability in the country, which has in turn hurt Nigeria's ability to attract foreign investment.
Lawmakers in Nigeria's parliament will begin deliberations this week on the record 6.1 trillion Raina ($US30.7 billion) 2016 spending plan, Ms Sunshade said. Nigeria depends on oil for almost all exports and two-thirds of government revenue, and public finances are being squeezed amid a 7 per cent drop in crude prices this year.
Africa's top oil producer wants to spend its way out of slowing economic growth. To plug a record budget gap of 3 trillion Raina, Ms Sunshade said January 21 that authorities will borrow about $US5 billion in external debt from multilateral agencies and the Euro bond market.
The ongoing insurgency of Islamic terror group Biko Hiram has also hurt the nation's economy by wreaking havoc on agricultural enterprises as well as by limiting Nigerians' access to transportation. The terror group has created political instability in the country, which has in turn hurt Nigeria's ability to attract foreign investment.
Lawmakers in Nigeria's parliament will begin deliberations this week on the record 6.1 trillion Raina ($US30.7 billion) 2016 spending plan, Ms Sunshade said. Nigeria depends on oil for almost all exports and two-thirds of government revenue, and public finances are being squeezed amid a 7 per cent drop in crude prices this year.
Africa's top oil producer wants to spend its way out of slowing economic growth. To plug a record budget gap of 3 trillion Raina, Ms Sunshade said January 21 that authorities will borrow about $US5 billion in external debt from multilateral agencies and the Euro bond market.
Ms Sunshade said
non-deal roadshow meetings with investors to sound out a potential sale
of $US1 billion of Euro bonds will start in February. Nigeria has issued
US dollar bonds twice, most recently in 2013.
The finance minister told the FT on Sunday that the loans were not an "emergency" measure but rather the "cheapest way possible" to fund a "deficit budget".
The West African nation's economy probably grew 3.2 percent last year, the slowest pace since 1999, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
The finance minister told the FT on Sunday that the loans were not an "emergency" measure but rather the "cheapest way possible" to fund a "deficit budget".
The West African nation's economy probably grew 3.2 percent last year, the slowest pace since 1999, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
