The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has credited the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the $3.4 billion loan approved
to assist the country’s fight against COVID-19 and resolve urgent
balance of payment needs.
The Fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, made the
disclosure in an interview on CNBC Africa.
“We have already disbursed (the money to Nigeria). In emergency
assistance, (once) the board approves, we disburse within days to
the country and it goes to the Central bank in dollars before it’s
converted to naira (for the federal government’s use),” Georgieva
said.
The $3.4 billion loan, when reflected in the CBN’s reserve data,
will push gross external reserves to a near two month high of $36.9
billion from $33.5bn as of April 30.
The loan is the single biggest disbursement by the IMF for any
country with the coronavirus pandemic, yet it may be too little to
make a big dent on Nigeria’s broader economic problems which
include a possible balance of payment deficit of $9bn this
year.
Hit by crashing oil prices and lockdowns to curb the spread of
the Covid-19 pandemic, Africa’s biggest crude producer has also
requested $3.5 billion in total from the World Bank and the African
Development Bank.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has credited the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the $3.4 billion loan approved
to assist the country’s fight against COVID-19 and resolve urgent
balance of payment needs.
The Fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, made the
disclosure in an interview on CNBC Africa.
“We have already disbursed (the money to Nigeria). In emergency
assistance, (once) the board approves, we disburse within days to
the country and it goes to the Central bank in dollars before it’s
converted to naira (for the federal government’s use),” Georgieva
said.
The $3.4 billion loan, when reflected in the CBN’s reserve data,
will push gross external reserves to a near two month high of $36.9
billion from $33.5bn as of April 30.
The loan is the single biggest disbursement by the IMF for any
country with the coronavirus pandemic, yet it may be too little to
make a big dent on Nigeria’s broader economic problems which
include a possible balance of payment deficit of $9bn this
year.
Hit by crashing oil prices and lockdowns to curb the spread of
the Covid-19 pandemic, Africa’s biggest crude producer has also
requested $3.5 billion in total from the World Bank and the African
Development Bank.