NNPC Obtains $3 Billion Loan To Stabilise Naira Against Dollar

NNPC has obtained a $3 billion loan to stabilise Naira against Dollar.

Newsone reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited has secured a $3 billion emergency crude repayment loan to support the naira and stabilise the foreign exchange market.

This online news platform understands that NNPC Limited secured the $3 billion loan to stabilise Naira from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

The NNPC, Newsone Nigeria understands, will repay the $3 billion loan with crude oil at an interest rate between eight percent and 11 percent, a statement said on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.

“The NNPC Ltd. and Afrexim Bank have jointly signed a commitment letter and Termsheet for an emergency $3 billion crude oil repayment loan,” NNPC said in a terse statement on Wednesday.

“The signing, which took place today at the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, will provide some immediate disbursement that will enable the NNPC Ltd. to support the Federal Government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate market.”

The loan will save Nigeria from approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loans, and bring respite to the local currency, which had depreciated significantly against the dollar over the past week.

The naira depreciated on Friday to close the week at an all-time low of N950 to the dollar at the parallel market.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday, met with the acting CBN governor, Folashodun Shonubi, who said the apex bank will roll out its plans to stabilise the naira.

Newsone Nigeria reports that the local currency appreciated Wednesday, August 16, 2023, recovering from N950 per dollar to N890 to the greenback.

Meanwhile, Newsone reports that Nigeria produced an average of 1.255 million barrels of oil daily in July 2023, according to data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).