Nigeria’s debt to China, France, Japan, India and Germany rose to $4.26bn as of June 30, 2021 from $3.85bn at the end of 2019, according to data obtained from the Debt Management Office.
An analysis of the data showed that the country spent $402.74m in the 18-month period servicing bilateral loans, even as it borrowed $400m.
As of December 31, 2019, Nigeria owed $3.18bn to the Exim Bank of China, $76.13m to France’s Agence Francaise Development, $361.75m to Japan International Cooperation Agency, $32.14m to the Exim Bank of India, and $202.27m to Germany’s Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbua.
The bilateral loans accounted for 13.89 per cent of the country’s total external debt of $27.67bn as of the first quarter of 2020.
A total of $94.99m was paid as debt service for bilateral loans in Q1 2020, with China and India $94.61m and $382,310 respectively. Japan, France and Germany got nothing within this period.
The bilateral loans increased by $110m to $3.95bn on June 30, 2020, accounting for 12.54 per cent of the total external debt of $31.48bn.
The country spent $14.26m servicing the bilateral loans in Q2 2020, with France and Germany getting $14.22m and $44,340 respectively while China, Japan and India got nothing.
The debt owed to the five countries rose by $130m in Q3 to $4.08bn on September 30, 2020, making up 12.74 per cent of the total external debt of $31.99bn.
The cost of servicing bilateral loans stood at $114.6m in Q3, with China, India and Germany getting $100.86m, $412,220 and $13.32m respectively, while Japan and France got nothing.
Nigeria’s total indebtedness to these countries fell slightly by $2m to $4.06bn at the end of 2020, accounting for 12.17 per cent of the total external debt of $33.35bn as of December 2020.
The country incurred a debt service cost of $34.34m in Q4, with China, France and Germany receiving $20,000, $21.14m and $13.19m respectively, while India and Japan got nothing.
The bilateral loans rose by $120m in the first three months of this year to $4.18bn, accounting for 12.73 per cent of the total external debt of $32.86bn.
A total of $106.33m was paid as debt service for bilateral loans in Q1 2021, with China and India receiving $102.2m and $4.13m, while France, Japan and Germany got.
The total debt owed to the five countries increased further to $4.25bn as of June 30, 2021, with China having $3.48bn; Japan, $74.77m; France, $482.15m; India, $34.59m; and Germany, $174.39m.
– Punch