Nigeria Seeks $2.5 Billion Loan From World Bank
Nigeria, in its effort to come out of an $11 billion budget deficit, is seeking the help of the World Bank for a possible loan. According to BBC, as one of the members of the World Bank, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun believes they are entitled to its funds just like any other members of the organization.
Apart from the World Bank, Nigeria is also seeking the help of its domestic bank, particularly the African Development Bank. Despite plans to take a loan from the two organizations, Adeosun said, "No applications for loans have been made. We are simply discussing options for funding [the] 2016 budget."
Razia Khan, Standard Chartered Bank's chief Africa economist, believes that Nigeria's move to seek the help of World Bank will significantly bring better loan options for the country. The positive growth of 3.2 percent in Nigeria this 2016 will somehow balance the predicted economic slowdown.
With Nigeria failing to use its oil revenue in big investments, the country continues to rely on these funds for their daily government expenditures. Despite the predicted minimal growth this 2016, the country is still not eligible for a bailout.
Adeosun is seeking to get a loan amount of $3.5 billion from the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The deficit on Nigeria's budget has been largely brought by the massive fall in oil prices. And with the country relying most of its budget from its oil revenue, the Nigerian government needs to take immediate action to gain funds.
According to The Globe and The Mail, Nigeria is planning on applying for a loan amounting to $2.5 billion from the World Bank and another $1 billion from the African Development Bank. A spokesperson for Adeosun said, "Nigeria is exploring the options of multilateral agencies like the World Bank and AfDB and export credit agencies such as China Exim Bank due to their concessionary interest rates."
Nigeria has adopted the loan option as a resort to the slumping oil price. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also recommended Nigeria to reexamine their currency and possibly invest on a viable exchange rate. Last month, Christine Lagarde addressed the Nigerian Parliament saying, "The massive fall in oil prices -- which is expected to continue -- has changed the medium-term foundations for economic resilience."
Nigeria is not the only African country that has been suffering from the surge of oil slump. Angola is also dealing with a similar case, with the added pressure on devaluing its currency rate. Zambia has also suffered on the weak pricing of its primary product, copper.
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