Nigeria’s highest external debt stock to a multilateral or bilateral financial institution is its $10.46bn (N3.965tn at the official rate of N379/$) indebtedness to World Bank Group, latest figures from Debt Management Office have shown.

An analysis of the country’s external debt stock as of June 30, 2020 showed that Nigeria’s indebtedness to International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development were $10.05bn and $409.51m respectively.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association are both organisations of the World Bank Group.

Other organisations of the multilateral financial institution include International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

World Bank Group and African Development Bank Group are two prominent multilateral institutions that lend to the nation.

Nigeria’s total indebtedness to the multilateral institutions during the period under review was put at $16.36bn, representing 51.97 per cent of the country’s total external debt stock.

DMO put the country’s indebtedness to the AfDB Group at $5.896bn.

External debts of Nigeria to African Development Bank, Africa Growing Together Fund and African Development Fund are $1.325bn, $140,000, and $921.91m respectively.

Nigeria’s debt to other organisations of the AfDB Group such as Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, European Development Fund, Islamic Development Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development were $5.88m, $52.52m, $30.22m and $201.68m respectively.

Further analysis of the country’s external debts showed that Nigeria’s total indebtedness to bilateral organisations, which in this case include foreign nations, was $3.948bn as of June 30.

This represents 12.54 per cent of the country’s entire $31.477bn external debt stock during the period under review.

For the bilateral organisations, the country’s indebtedness to China (Exim Bank of China) was $3.24bn, while its debt to France (Agence Francaise Development) was $403.65m.

The country’s debt to Japan (Japan International Corporation Agency) was $76.69m, while Nigeria owes India (Exim Bank of India) $34.87m.

Nigeria also owe Germany $192.7m

Still under Nigeria’s external debt stock as of June 30, DMO put the country’s Eurobonds at $10.87bn, while its Diaspora Bond was $300m.

Eurobond and Diaspora Bond are commercial external debt stock and account for $11.168bn, representing 35.48 per cent of the country’s external debt stock.

Punch