The Real Deal: Nigeria – China Currency Deal

The President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chinese President Xi Jinping, recently signed a bilateral currency agreement which was between the people’s Republic of China and Nigeria which also comes come with a lot of benefits to the two countries. China is a county that thrives on imports and production of cheap goods exported all over the world and also China accounts for over 70% of Nigeria’s total imports.

This deal, apart from its economic benefits, it also comes with billions of dollars in loans, infrastructural development, investment opportunities and job creation.

Chinese Loan: Nigeria Offered $6bn, Agrees Currency Swap to Shore up Naira

China has offered Nigeria a $6 billion loan to fund infrastructure projects, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyema, said yesterday in Beijing the Chinese capital.

“It is a credit that is on the table as soon as we identify the projects,” he told reporters travelling with President Muhammadu Buhari to China.

President Buhari meets Xi Jinping of China

“It won’t need an agreement to be signed; it is just to identify the projects and we access it,” he said.

The confirmation by Onyema coincided with an agreement reached between Nigeria and China yesterday on a currency swap deal, as it looks for ways to shore up the naira and fund a record budget deficit, possibly by issuing yuan-denominated bonds in China, reported Reuters.

Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades as sinking oil prices eat into its foreign reserves and the naira weakens against other currencies.

Nigeria has been for months looking for sources to help plug a projected 2016 deficit of N2.2 trillion ($11.1 billion) as Buhari plans to triple capital spending in the 2016 fiscal year.

According to Reuters, during Buhari’s visit to Beijing, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), the world’s biggest lender, and Nigeria’s central bank signed a deal on yuan transactions.
“It means that the renminbi (yuan) is free to flow among different banks in Nigeria, and the renminbi has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria,” Lin Songtian, Director General of the African Affairs Department of China’s foreign ministry, told reporters.

Missiles test: North Korea fires two short-range

North Korea has fired two missiles into the sea from its east coast, reports from South Korea say. A South Korea defence ministry spokesman in Seoul declined to give further details, but Yonhap news agency said they were Scuds with the range of 500km (310 miles).

The apparent test comes just days after North Korea said it successfully fired new precision-guided missiles. North Korea frequently test-fires missiles to refine its military capabilities.

Reports of a new test come days before Chinese President Xi Jinping is due in South Korea to discuss the North’s nuclear weapons programme.

Missing MH370: New satellite images show 122 objects in Indian Ocean

Satellite images spot 122 potential objects in search for missing Malaysian jet. Images obtained by the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency show 122 potential objects in the search for debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner, Malaysia's acting transport minister said Wednesday.

Crimea Invation: Putin, China's Xi discuss Ukraine in phone call; Kerry promises US support for Kiev government

[Reuters] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the situation in

Ukraine by telephone, and their positions on the issue are "close", the Kremlin said.

It said the presidents of the veto-wielding UN Security Council nation expressed hope that "the steps taken by the Russian leadership will allow for the reduction of ... tension and provide for the security of Russian-speaking citizens living in Crimea and the eastern regions of Ukraine." 

US Secretary of state John Kerry has promises US support for Kiev government.

US Secretary of State John Kerry lays roses atop the Shrine of the Fallen in Kiev. Over the course of the Ukraine protests, almost 100 protesters were killed [Reuters]