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Somalia secures $4.5bn debt relief from lenders

Published

10 months ago

December 10, 2023

After a decade-long process of negotiations and reforms with creditors, Somalia has finally secured a $4.5 billion debt write-off from global lenders as the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative has spared the nation from repaying its debt.

The World Bank reports that the country’s debt has significantly decreased from a peak of $5.2 billion to $600 million as a result of the action taken by multilateral and bilateral lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Commercial creditors have contributed $3 billion towards the debt relief, with multilateral creditors contributing $573.1 million, the World Bank’s International Development Association contributing $448.5 million, the IMF contributing $343.2 million, and the African Development Fund contributing $131 million.

Following the Bretton Woods institutions’y boards’ approval process, a historic announcement regarding Somalia’s debt forgiveness is scheduled to take place in Washington DC on December 13.

HIPC completion points were reached by 37 nations, with Somalia following suit after Zimbabwe and Sudan were left behind. Under the leadership of the current president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia began holding HIPC talks ten years ago, and the nation has continued on the reform path despite political obstacles.

Kristina Svensson, the country manager for Somalia at the World Bank, praised Mogadishu for its “remarkable” commitment to reform last week.

“There have been a lot of political challenges within Somalia, but this thing (principles of HIPC), has held it quite high,” she said.

“This is satisfactory for them (Somalia) to achieve debt relief,” said Ms. Svensson. “Both the World Bank and IMF as well as other international partners, have been essential to providing technical assistance to support the achievement of these triggers.”

Over the past few weeks, Somalia has achieved huge milestones in its efforts towards socioeconomic and political liberation. It recently joined regional bloc, East Africa Community (EAC), as it seeks strategic partnerships with neighbours.

Related Topics:debt relief Featured Somalia

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3 years after, Nigeria’s Belemaoil restarts Oil Lease 55

Published

3 hours ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following a three-year hiatus due to theft-related damage to the plant, Nigerian independent producer, Belemaoil Producing, has reopened operations at its oil block on Oil Mining Lease 55, the company announced on Monday.

In February 2015, Belemaoil purchased OML 55 from Chevron Corp. OML 55 is situated in a marsh to shallow water area, approximately 40 kilometres west of the Bonny oil export facility.

According to a statement by a Belemaoil representative, widespread oil theft from OML 55’s delivery line to the Bonny terminal forced the closure of the facility in 2021.

The block has five oilfields, which provide more than 70 million standard cubic feet of petrol per day and around 14,000 barrels per day, according to the business.

An official stated that the first floating oil storage vessel arrived at OML 55 on October 6th, signalling “a major milestone in the company’s efforts to restart production”.

Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa, is attempting to increase its crude production, which has decreased recently as a result of widespread theft and sabotage, which drove oil majors to abandon onshore drilling in favour of deepwater production.

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Kenya permits JPMorgan Chase to open representative office

Published

4 hours ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The central bank of Kenya announced on Monday that JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) had been permitted to create a new tab and open a representative office in the East African nation.

According to a statement from the Central Bank of Kenya, representative offices of foreign banks in Kenya act as hubs for marketing and communication for their parent banks and affiliates.

The announcement further stated that the JPMorgan Chase representative office will help to diversify Kenya’s banking industry and encourage trade and investment.

In an effort by the largest United States lender to grow on the continent, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is scheduled to visit Africa in mid-October, according to a report published by Reuters last month, which cited four people with knowledge of the situation.

Within the next three years, the bank intends to renovate 1,700 existing branches and open 500 new ones. According to J.P. Morgan’s most recent financial report, as of the end of the second quarter of 2024, the bank had 4,884 branches.