BY BAMIDELE FAMOOFO
Nigeria’s outstanding debt to China (dollar component) as at September 30, 2021 stood at about $3.52billion or N1.45trillion at the official exchange rate of N411.91/dollar.
The total loans obtained from China as at the review period stood at about $4.08trillion.
The loans were taken for the purpose of infrastructure development in the various sectors of the economy, according to the Debt Management Office.
The Nigerian Railway Modernization Project in the Lagos-Ibadan corridor accounted for a huge chunk of the borrowings, standing at about $1.27billion followed by Nigerian Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Project which gulped $984million.
Nigeria’s public debt according to the DMO was N38.005 trillion or USD92.626 billion at the end of Q3 2021, according to data made available by the DMO on Tuesday.
The figure for the period ended September 30, 2021, includes the total external and domestic Debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 36 State Governments and the Federal Capital Territory.
The increase of N2.540 trillion when compared to the corresponding figure of N35.465 trillion at the end of Q2 2021 was largely accounted for by the USD4 billion Eurobonds issued by the Government in September 2021.
According to the DMO, issuance of the USD4 billion Eurobonds has brought significant benefits to the economy by increasing the level of Nigeria’s External Reserves, thereby supporting the Naira Exchange Rate and providing necessary capital to enable the Federal Government finance various projects in the Budget.
The triple tranche USD4 billion Eurobond, issued in September 2021, was for the implementation of the New External Borrowing of USD6.18 billion in the 2021 Appropriation Act.
