By John Ikani
Data on external loans obtained from the Debt Management Office (DMO) reveals that Nigeria’s loans from China, France, Japan, India and Germany rose from $1.66bn as of December 31, 2015 to $4.06bn as of December 31, 2020, signifying an increase of $2.4bn or 144.58 per cent in five years.
As of December 31, 2015, Nigeria had borrowed $1.44bn from China’s Exim Bank of China, $157.95m from France’s Agence Francaise Development, $43.88m from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and $11.44m from Germany’s Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbua, making a total of $1.66bn.
The total indebtedness to these countries rose by $26m to $1.92bn by December 31, 2016 with Nigeria owing China $1.64bn, Japan $198.25m, France $70.66m, and Germany $11.09m.
It further rose by $45m to $2.37bn by December 31, 2017 with Nigeria owing China $1.93bn, Japan $274.98m, France $73.45m, and Germany $92.59m.
For the first time, Nigeria borrowed from India in 2018, a total of $14.79m.
By the end of that year, loans from the five countries rose by $72m to $3.09bn, with Nigeria owing China $2.49bn, Japan $344.63m, France $75.16m, and Germany $172.02m.
In December 2019, loans from the five countries rose by $76m to $3.85bn with Nigeria owing China $3.18bn, Japan $361.75m, France $$76.13m, India $32.14m, Germany $202.27m.
Nigeria’s debt profile from the five countries increased by $21m to $4.06bn as of December 31, 2020.
By the end of 2020, Nigeria owed China $3.26bn, Japan $493.71m, France $80.20m, India $37.00m, and Germany $184.32m.
Within the stated period, Nigeria’s indebtedness to China rose by $1.82bn or 126.39 per cent; for France, it rose by $335.76m or 212.57 per cent, while for Japan, it rose by $36.32m or 82.77 per cent, and for Germany, it rose by $172.88m or 1511.19 per cent.
For India, from 2018 to 2020, Nigeria’s debt profile rose by $22.21m or 150.17 per cent.
Bilateral debts make up 15.47 per cent of Nigeria’s total external debts as of December 31, 2015, with a total of $1.66bn, while by December 31, 2020, it made up 12.17 per cent, with a total of $4.06bn, showing a total increase of $2.4bn or 144.58bn.
