National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
The elevated public debt-service cost in Nigeria and some other countries in Africa calls for concern, Moody’s Investors Service stated in a report at the weekend. The region’s debt-servicing cost on weighted-average basis increased to almost to 12.3 per cent of revenue in 2017 from seven per cent in 2013, and was expected to hover at around 13per cent in the medium term, one of the leading global rating agencies revealed.
Moody’s noted that while this largely reflects a sharp fall in revenue and increasing borrowing costs for oil exporters, particularly Nigeria, interest costs relative to revenue were escalating across the region.
Also, Moody’s stated that the outlook for sovereign ratings in Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, were negative for the coming 12-18 months, driven by the region’s subdued and fragile growth recovery, which also weighs on the prospects for fiscal consolidation and debt stabilisation.
Photo Caption: Moody Investors Services Logo
