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 Songtian said “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