World Bank, China tops Nigeria’s creditors as total debt rises to US$1trn

NIGERIA – Data obtained from the Debt Management Office have ranked World Bank and China’s Exim Bank as the country’s largest creditors.

Current financial figures at the Debt Management office show that the two have a combined portfolio of about $11.46billion.

Nigeria’s total credit portfolio has been gradually rising and this year, data from the Debt Management Office show that, Nigeria has a total combined portfolio of US$1 trillion.

The two lending institutions are unique in the financing. World Bank which is a multilateral lender finances development projects executed by firms belonging to different countries.

The group is made up of the International Development Association which gives out concessional loans and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development which gives out commercial loans.

The Exim Bank of China on the other hand, is a bilateral lender, implementing orders from the government of China especially in financing projects being executed by Chinese firms.

Figures at the DMO show that, as at March 31, the World Bank Group alone had a portfolio of $8.9bn in Nigeria representing a 34.75 per cent of the country’s $25.61bn external indebtedness.

Nigeria also owes the African Development Bank Group, another multilateral agency a total of $1.25bn. This makes up 4.88 per cent of the nation’s external debt.

Debt owed to the African Development Fund amounts to US$834.18 million. This debt to ADF constitutes 3.26 per cent of the country’s external debt.

Nigeria is also indebted to a number of other multilateral agencies which include the Arab Bank for Development in Africa, Electricite de France, the Islamic Development Fund and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Multilateral agencies continue to play a key role in the financing of development projects in Nigeria.

The huge debt owed to these agencies which totals to US$11.25 billion and accounts for 43.92 percent of the country’s external debt is prove of their significant role in the country’s development.

Bilateral creditors also account for a significant amount of Nigeria’s external debt. The total amount owed to them by Nigeria is US$3.19 billion and it accounts for 12.47% of the country’s external debt.

China alone, with its total credit portfolio of US$2.55 billion accounts for over two-thirds of the amount extended by foreign countries.