Nigeria Lawmakers Approve Plan to Borrow $11 Billion in 2021

(Bloomberg) -- Nigerian lawmakers have approved a plan to borrow as much as 4.28 trillion naira ($11 billion) from both domestic and foreign debt markets to support its expenditure in 2021.

The National Assembly gave the go-ahead on Wednesday after debating the government’s medium-term expenditure plan covering the next three years. President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to present the 2021 budget proposals before lawmakers on Thursday.

The spending plan provides for an estimated deficit of 5.16 trillion naira and total expenditure of 13.08 trillion naira. The government has retained an exchange rate of 379 naira to the dollar “given the determination of the Central Bank of Nigeria to pursue unification” of rates, according to the document.

Debt service is projected to take 3.12 trillion naira, slightly less than the 3.58 trillion naira planned for infrastructure development.

Africa’s largest crude producer sees daily crude production of 1.86 million barrels a day in 2021 at an average price of $40 a barrel.

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