The federal government is in talks with the World Bank for a $1.5 billion loan to support the budget and also provide liquidity in the forex market.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun stated this in an interview with Bloomberg Tv on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
According to the Minister, the reforms with respect to fuel subsidy removal and merger of the foreign exchange market require some form of support from multilateral organisation.
He stated,
On the issue of liquidity in the foreign exchange market, the Minister noted that the government’s priority is to stabilise the naira through liquidity. He mentioned that receipts from crude oil sales remain the main source while also looking at domestic dollar savings with and outside the official market.
According to him,
Furthermore, he noted that the priority of the CBN still remains clearing the FX backlog which he estimates at $5bn.
He said,
The Minister also hinted at Nigeria is contemplating issuing Eurobonds later in the year if the rates are considerably lower stating that major issuers have informed the country of the possibility this year.
