Nigeria’s external debt hits $51.9bn as Eurobond investors top creditor list

Nigeria’s external debt stock has reached $51.9 billion, with investors holding the country’s Eurobonds now ranked as the largest single category of foreign creditors, according to The Sun Nigeria.

The makeup of Nigeria’s overseas borrowing reflects a long-running shift away from concessional lending toward international capital markets. Eurobonds — dollar-denominated debt instruments issued by sovereign governments and sold to overseas investors — have become a central plank of the country’s external financing since Nigeria first entered the international bond market more than a decade ago. Subsequent issuances have been used to fund infrastructure projects, refinance maturing obligations and bridge budget shortfalls linked to volatile oil revenues.

Nigeria’s external creditor base also traditionally includes multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank, as well as bilateral lenders, notably the Export-Import Bank of China, alongside a smaller share owed to commercial banks under buyer and supplier credit arrangements. The rise of Eurobond holders to the top of the creditor table, as The Sun Nigeria reported, underscores how much of the country’s overseas borrowing has shifted onto market terms, with corresponding implications for interest costs and refinancing schedules.

The debt portfolio is managed by the Debt Management Office, which periodically publishes data on federal government borrowing. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy by gross domestic product, has faced growing fiscal pressure in recent years, driven in part by weaker oil receipts, fuel subsidy reforms and currency adjustments that have inflated the local-currency value of dollar obligations.

The Sun Nigeria report comes amid continued scrutiny of Nigeria’s debt sustainability by investors, multilateral lenders and rating agencies, who monitor indicators such as the debt-to-GDP ratio and the share of revenue absorbed by debt service as barometers of fiscal health.

Sources

This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.

• The Sun Nigeria — Nigeria owes $51.9bn in external debt, Eurobond investors top creditors