₦airaland Forum

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China don see bad market!

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..a signal to foreign investors!

Nigeria looks to Europe for funding as Chinese lenders move away from costly projects in Africa

Transport minister says the West African nation is ‘stuck with lots of our projects because we cannot get money’ from China

It reflects a wider trend amid ‘real concerns about debt sustainability and the availability of Chinese financial resources’, according to analyst

Nigeria is looking to Europe for funding to complete infrastructure projects such as railways, with a senior official in the West African nation saying Chinese loans are drying up.

Analysts say Nigeria’s situation reflects a broader Chinese move away from funding these expensive projects in Africa, where China has provided hundreds of billions of dollars in loans to develop infrastructure as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

Last weekend, Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi told Nigerian newspaper The Guardian that the country was “stuck with lots of our projects because we cannot get money”. “The Chinese are no longer funding,” he said. “So, we are now pursuing money in Europe.”

In Abuja on Wednesday, Amaechi said Nigeria had approached Standard Chartered Bank for funding of two existing rail projects, Reuters reported.He had said in July that Standard Chartered had agreed to provide US$3.02 billion for the Port Harcourt-to-Maiduguri railway project and that Credit Suisse was expected to fund the Kano-to-Maradi line, according to the report.

“We have gone to Standard Chartered Bank. They have not done financial closure but they have approved some level of funding for Kano-Maradi,” Amaechi was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s funding difficulties indicate a wider trend of Chinese policy banks becoming more risk-averse, according to analysts.

Tim Zajontz, a research fellow with the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, said lenders were more cautious in assessing projects now.That included more realistic feasibility studies and consideration of the potential reputational damage for China, particularly with regard to potentially unsustainable debt, he said.

In Nigeria, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has for some time been trying to diversify funding – including looking to European lenders – for its ambitious railway development programme.

Zajontz said that for projects such as Kano-Maradi, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri and the remaining phases of the Lagos-Kano railway, the government had sought to combine commercial loans with concessional funding to keep debt servicing manageable.

But he said European lenders had tough requirements for the economic feasibility of projects, as well as their social and environmental impact. “I am therefore not entirely convinced by Minister Amaechi’s optimism about securing funding from European sources for all these projects,” said Zajontz, who is also an international relations lecturer at the University of Freiburg in Germany. “His comments might also serve the strategic purpose of getting Chinese financiers back to the negotiation table.”

Is this the end of the line for China’s big belt and road funding in Africa?

China has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with about 200 million people. Nigeria is also the continent’s second-largest importer of Chinese goods – in 2020 it imported goods worth US$16.78 billion, with Nigerian exports to China worth US$2.45 billion.

Between 2000 and 2019, Nigeria received US$7.2 billion from Chinese lenders, according to the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University and Boston University. Most of the loans went into funding projects in the transport and power sectors, and information and communication technology.

But the general trend now is a shift away from costly infrastructure projects in Africa, according to Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Centre in Washington. “There are real concerns about debt sustainability, and also the availability of Chinese financial resources given the economic slowdown,” Sun said.

European lenders would also be careful about loan terms and project quality, she said. “It all goes back to the financial viability of the project. Good projects should not worry about the availability of funding,” she said. “Investors chase quality projects.”

Chinese lending to Africa peaked in 2013, the year Beijing announced its belt and road trade and infrastructure scheme. At November’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Senegal, Beijing signalled a continued shift towards trade financing and support for Chinese equity-based investment in Africa, rather than infrastructure loans. During the Dakar talks, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised US$10 billion in trade finance to support African exports and another US$10 billion in credit lines for financial institutions, but he did not say how much would go to bilateral project finance.

W. Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow with the Centre for Global Development in Washington and a former Liberian public works minister, said China appeared to have become more stringent in its financing criteria. “Projects that would have secured funding five years ago may not cut today,” he said.

In general, African governments that fall behind on loan repayments or default on outstanding debts will find it difficult to get new loans from China, according to Bradley Parks, executive ­director of AidData, a research lab at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

“China’s state-owned banks are primarily motivated by profit, so they don’t like to throw good money after bad if they can avoid it,” Parks said.
But he said Chinese lenders with especially high levels of financial exposure to a particular borrower could offer new loans to help them repay the old ones.

“As the old adage goes, if you owe the bank a little, the bank owns you. But if you owe the bank a lot, you own the bank,” Parks said. “This is why we are beginning to see Chinese lenders offer balance of payments loans rather than project loans to some of their biggest borrowers,” he said.

“We may also see Chinese lenders minimise repayment risk by lending to project companies and joint ventures rather than government borrowers with unsustainable levels of sovereign debt.”

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2022/02/04/7dc1bd11-b7d7-4e90-900b-f9d004b96a09_289a8f2b.jpg

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3165844/nigeria-looks-europe-funding-chinese-lenders-move-away-costly

Tight game

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Russia has outstanding business with Ukraine
China has outstanding business with Hong Kong and Taiwan

Now's the best time to accelerate the reunions.

US should face their side - go invade Canada or Mexico.

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For the second time, in less than one week, terrorists have attacked the military camp in Allawa in Rafi local government area of Niger state.

They burnt down the camp, killed some soldiers, stole two military vehicles and carted away weapons.

The terrorists, mounted on 100 motorcycles also invaded Mariga town in Mariga local government area of the state and rustle over 300 cows.

Although there was no killing here, sources close to the vigilante, said almost all the cattle in the town were rustled away.

The gunmen, also in hundreds reportedly stormed Allawa town about 10;00pm on Thursday and made their way straight to the Military camp.

They engaged the soldiers in a fierce gun battle which lasted for several hours.

According to a source close to Allawa town, there were casualties on both sides but details of the actual casualties were still sketchy as nobody could go in or out of Allawa town.

A number of the villagers were equally caught in the crossfire between the soldiers and the gunmen.

The entire town is now deserted as the villagers have escaped into the bush.

This latest onslaught by the gunmen is coming barely one week after a similar attack, which targeted the Joint Security TaskForce camp at Galadiman Kogo.

No fewer than 11 members of the security TaskForce and unspecified numbers of civilians were killed.

Houses, food barns, vehicles and other properties worth millions of naira were burnt down by the gunmen.

In April last year, the gunmen invaded the same military camp in Allawa, killing five soldiers and an Inspector of Police.

This led to the shutting down of the camp by the Military.

It was reopened a month after with more troops deployed.

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https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2022/02/04/just-in-terrorists-sack-allawa-military-base-kill-soldiers-steal-army-vehicles-300-cows/

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They're all the same......

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Maybe vice presido go entice am?

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Make i balance here......

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Aptitude test required?

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....racists!

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A.nother

P.robable

C.on

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12 months for 57Mill?

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......he won't come out rehabilitated!

Nigeria is hanging on a Repudiated and illegitimate 1999 Constitution, so any lender, whether it be China or Europe (or any other country) will have to bear the consequences of lending to a Disputed Project. Due to that imposed 1999 Constitution, Nigeria has now finally collapsed. Do not let it crash out!

n February 1, 2022, Nigerians heard some more dismal news from Rotimi Amaechi, the country’s Minister of Transportation, blaming China for the delay in some major infrastructural projects. He announced, “We are stuck with lots of our projects because we cannot get money. The Chinese are no longer funding. So, we are now pursuing money in Europe.”

From the news report seen, it was not clear if China had suspended disbursements of an already agreed loan, or whether Nigeria was having trouble seeking fresh loans from China to continue with projects. Anyway, getting funding from China is now going to be harder for African countries. In early January 2022, the Financial Times newspaper published an article titled, “China applies brakes to Africa lending” because the risks of defaulting were quite high.


With regards to Nigeria, where does the BLAME truly lie for not being able to get funding from China? Only those who are involved in negotiations for possible loans from China will know what the conditions for giving and getting a loan are, and they would be the ones who would be engaged in writing out loan agreements, etc. Negotiations for any Federal loan would involve the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning. Since funding here is being sought for building railways, the Ministry of Transportation would also be involved, so too the Debt Management Office and other relevant agencies. Thereafter, the loan and its conditions would have to be approved by both the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly. That is on the Nigerian side. The potential lender, China in this case, would also have their own stringent processes and assessments involving their different ministries and agencies. Generally, quite a large number of people would be required in forming a loan agreement, and in scrutinizing it before any funds are released.


From 16th December 2020, Nigeria became a Disputed Project with both national and international implications, including where it concerns any loan-taking by central government. The Notice of the Constitutional Force Majeure proclaimed on that day by the NINAS Movement in Lagos made it very clear, and states,

“…BY THIS PROCLAMATION, Let it be known to ALL, including International Money Lenders, that Nigeria is now a Disputed Project and that while the Constituent Components commit to honouring existing International Debt Obligations, WE CAUTION that whatever Obligations that may arise from any Foreign Loans contracted by the Federal Government of Nigeria from the date of this Proclamation may come into controversy. Similarly, all Loans contracted by the Federal Government of Nigeria, containing any Clause that may Cede the Sovereignty of Nigeria or any part thereof in the event of Repayment Default shall be disputed as illicit, and in breach of the Sovereignty of the Federating Units…”


Essentially, being a Disputed Project means that Nigeria under its constitutional arrangement is not creditworthy for lenders. The NINAS Movement were the first to Repudiate the illegitimate 1999 Constitution, a known forgery, but now also many individuals and groups have done so. Late last year, leaders and those who guide the direction that Nigeria takes, in essence repudiated the 1999 Constitution too in their Communiqué, describing it as “Oligo-military in nature and not representing the collective interest of Nigerians”. They then called on government to begin a process that would end in reworking the Constitution. This took place at a meeting convened by Vision Africa and the Global Peace Foundation on 13 December 2021. Present were political, cultural, and religious leaders from right across the country such as former President Obasanjo, the Sultan of Sokoto, Rev. Pam Yakubu, Sheikh Gumi, Gani Adams, former Governor Obong Victor Attah, Madam Ankio Briggs, and many others.


Given that Nigeria’s constitutional arrangement needs to be reworked, no lender (or investor) who hopes to get his money back would be keen on lending to Nigeria. Time is passing, insecurity is deepening on all fronts, so the sooner this needed reworking is done, the better. Those in government, plus senior officials had all sworn an Oath of Office to govern by and uphold the sham, imposed 1999 Constitution in return for huge salaries and lavish living, (plus if they so desire, open access to looting public funds). However, as Nigeria gains pariah status, it is hoped that those personally benefiting from the fraud called the “1999 Constitution” would have a change of heart, consider their end, and show some concern for Nigerians. For, as long as Nigeria remains a Disputed Project, potential lenders will rightly not lend, and sustainable progress will not be possible.


We can fix it. Since Nigeria has no legitimate Constitution to base itself upon, there should be a transitioning process where the Union Dispute is resolved, which, in following due process, is by having a Transitional Government. The NINAS Movement (that Proclaimed the Constitutional Force Majeure) has already put its Propositions on the table, and government at central and state levels are aware of them. Since the 1999 Constitution has been repudiated, its life cannot be renewed by taking it to the next general elections. So that means halting preparations for general elections in 2023 even if temporarily, for transitioning. During the time-bound Transitional Government, elected officials and governance structures would remain as they are, with some adjustments. There would then be self-determination regional referendums whose outcomes would form the basis of reworking new constitutional arrangements.


Nigeria is hanging on a Repudiated and illegitimate 1999 Constitution, so any lender, whether it be China or Europe (or any other country) will have to bear the consequences of lending to a Disputed Project. Due to that imposed 1999 Constitution, Nigeria has now finally collapsed. Do not let it crash out!

By Ndidi Uwechue

http://saharareporters.com/2022/02/04/china-and-europe-foreign-lenders-beware-nigeria-disputed-project-ndidi-uwechue

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The chairman of the West African bloc ECOWAS said a surge of coups since a military government took power in Mali in 2020 must be contained before it devastates the whole region.

At the opening of a second ECOWAS summit on dealing with the January coup in Burkina Faso, chairman and president of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo said the resurgence of coups in West Africa is worrying and must be stopped.

"It's with a heavy heart that I welcome all of you today back to Accra after our virtual meeting last week," Akufo-Addo said. "Your presence here is a strong indication of your willingness to find a sustainable solution to the resurgence of the cancer in our region. Let us address this dangerous trend collectively and decisively before it devastates the whole region."

West Africa in the past year has seen a series of coups and attempted coups in Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

The Economic Community of West African States suspended Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali from the 15-member bloc and imposed sanctions on Guinea and Mali after military takeovers. The African Union also suspended the three countries.

But analysts question if the sanctions are effective when the coups are being driven by popular concerns about security and the fight against Islamist militant groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Dean of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College Vladimir Antwi-Danso told VOA that ECOWAS must be more proactive in helping member-states deal with insecurity.

"The 21st century is a century of terrorism," he said. "It's festering. And that is what we should be thinking about rather than the AU and ECOWAS being seen condemning coups and closing borders. What are we talking about? Let's be serious."

Former director of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa Takyiwaa Manuh was more critical of the African groups of nations. Speaking on Ghana's Asaase Radio, he said ECOWAS and the AU had failed to condemn elected leaders who change the law to extend their rule.

"When somebody changes the rules and runs for a third term we didn't hear ECOWAS condemning that. Why did ECOWAS not condemn that? Why did the Africa Union not condemn that? Right now, everybody is laughing, when ECOWAS imposes sanctions is like 'There you go again, where were you when this was happening?' And what it does is that it eats into the credibility of ECOWAS and the African Union," Manuh said.

Regardless of the causes behind the coups, analysts say the military takeovers will scare investors away from West Africa.

Daniel Amateye Anim, an economist at the Ghana-based Policy Initiative for Economic Development, told VOA the culture of coups could have dire economic consequences if foreign direct investments, or FDIs, dry up.

"Investors may be deterred from bringing in investment into the region because the region will be considered no longer safe for investors," he said. "Those who are already on the ground may be thinking of redirecting their investment into other economies where those places could be considered safe. And once FDIs are not coming into the equation what it means is that it may affect the overall GDP growth of the economies in the sub-region."

Meanwhile, West African leaders must decide how best to discourage more coups and get militaries to return to the barracks while countries are dealing with growing insecurity.

https://www.voanews.com/a/west-african-bloc-coup-contagion-must-be-contained-before-region-devastated/6425275.html

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Who fck up?

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Nigerians needs steady distractions from everyday realities...........

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....otherwise there would be a revolution!

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A professor of Virology, Oyewale Tomori has said Nigeria is now depending on international agencies such as International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to pay workers salaries.

Tomori spoke on Thursday while delivering a lecture on the topic “Science, Scientist and Society” at the 79th Interdisciplinary Research Discourse of the Postgraduate College, University of Ibadan.

Professor Tomori who is a member of the World Health Organisation Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 vaccine composition, also disclosed that Nigeria has become a beggar for COVID-19 vaccines.

He regretted that the country has failed to consistently invest in education, science and technology despite the vast number of natural resources.

He said while other countries are enjoying a return on investments, Nigeria is reaping a return on iniquity and immorality.

He said this is the main reason the country depends on loans from international donor agencies such as IMF and World Bank to pay salaries of workers.

The University Don lamented that the current democratic system in the country is full of corruption and immorality.

“While other countries are getting sumptuous results on their investments, we are wallowing in our own return on iniquity and on return on immorality.

“That is why we have 10.5 million of our children out of school, 4.5 million under-vaccinated, we become the poverty capital of the world.

“We are investing hugely in corruption and disdain for science and technology.

“And we now depend on IMF loans and world bank to pay our workers’ salaries, to import food which we should be producing.”

https://dailypost.ng/2022/02/03/nigeria-now-depends-on-imf-world-bank-to-pay-salaries-of-workers-prof-tomori/

kingjiss:
Poor people hate


Lol

Poor people like fake!