The minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has revealed that China has offered Nigeria a $6b loan to fund projects on infrastructural development.
Onyeama said "It is a credit that is on the table as soon as we identify the projects.
“It won’t need an agreement to be signed; it is just to identify the projects and we access it."
Also, the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN), signed an agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC)on foreign exchange transactions.
This will pave way for the addition of the Chinese currency in our foreign exchange reserves.
Speaking further, a Chinese government official, Lin Songtiansaid “It means that the renminbi (yuan) is free to flow among different banks in Nigeria and the renminbi has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria.”
A major investment into Nigeria’s mining sector should also be expected soon, as a Chinese firm also signed an agreement with the CBN and Zenith bank, to establish a mining plant.
It is interesting to note that China has offered Nigeria loans on lenient terms and long repayment periods.
In 2011, the country also gave the Goodluck Jonathan administration a $3b loan for infrastructure, with a 15 – 20 years repayment duration, at a single digit interest rate of 3%
President Buhari left Nigeria on Sunday, April 10, 2016,reportedly to secure a $2 billion loan facility.
0 comments:
Post a Comment