Nigeria being member of the UN has experince an increase of $2.19bn in its World Bank loan portfolio in the last three years, investigation has shown.

Statistical Data obtained from the Debt Management Office in Abuja on Monday showed that the country’s loan commitment to the bank as of March 31, 2016 stood at $6.72bn.

However, as of March 31, 2019, the loan commitment of the country to the Bretton Woods institution had risen to $8.9bn.

You May Also Read https://okfiscal.com/how-to-invest-in-nigeria-bonds-system-fgn-bonds/

This indicate that within a period of three years, the World Bank’s commitment to Nigeria rose by $2.19bn, reflecting 32.58 per cent increase.

Much of the loans from the World Bank between March 31, 2016 and March 31, 2019 came from the International Development Association, which is the concessional window of the Bretton Woods institution.

However, the collected data also showed the increasing recognition of Nigeria as a middle income country, qualifying for commercial loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the commercial window of the bank.

While as of March 31, 2016, IBRD’s commitment of the country stood only at $7.25m while as of March 31, 2019, the commitment had risen to $124.18m, showing an increase of $116.94m, reflecting an increase of 1,613 per cent over the three year period.

In addition to, The statistical data collected also showed that World Bank’s proportion of the country’s total debt portfolio had been on the decline.

As of March 31, 2016, the bank’s portfolio as a percentage of the country’s total debt portfolio stood at 60.05 per cent (the total debt portfolio was $11.19bn as of March 31, 2016).

However, as of March 31, 2019, the bank’s percentage of the country’s total debt portfolio was 34.75 per cent (the total debt portfolio of the country as of March 31, 2019 stood at $25.61bn).

The country had in recent years been obtaining more resources from commercial sources as concessional sources had been drying up. This was said to be the reason for the diminishing proportion of Nigeria’s loan from the World Bank.
Although some experts may see the 29.98 per cent growth in Bank’s portfolio in Nigeria within a period of three years as high, there was actually more growth in the country’s commitment to Eurobonds within the same period. In 2016, the nation’s Eurobonds loans stood at $1.5Bn. However, by December 2018, the Eurobonds portfolio had reached $10.87Bn. This shows that within the period, the country’s Eurobonds debt rose by $9.37Bn or 624.67 per cent.
Continue Reading https://okfiscal.com