Nigeria Gets $3.35bn of Special Drawing Rights from IMF

• Although the allocation is not a currency, the SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement the official reserve of its member countries.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has allocated about $3.35 billion to Nigeria as part of a historic general allocation of its Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

This was due to the general approval of a general allocation of about SDR456 billion, which was equivalent of $650 billion, by the IMF Board of Governors on Monday.

At a time when the world is battling with the coronavirus pandemic, the monetary organization approved the allocation with the aim of boosting global liquidity.

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The Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, said, “This is a historic decision – the largest SDR allocation in the history of the IMF and a shot in the arm for the global economy at a time of unprecedented crisis.”

Although the allocation is not a currency, the SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement the official reserve of its member countries.

It refers to the potential claim on the freely usable currencies of members of the IMF and can provide liquidity for member countries.

The SDR is defined by the US dollar, Euro, Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, and the British Pound.

The amount allocated to Nigeria was due to the exchange rate of reference which is 0.702283 SDR to a dollar as of July 1, 2021, and Nigeria has 2.4545 billion SDRs.

“The SDR allocation will benefit all members, address the long-term global need for reserves, build confidence, and foster the resilience and stability of the global economy,” the IMF managing director added.

“It will particularly help our most vulnerable countries struggling to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.”

The IMF further revealed that the general allocation of the SDRs will become effective on August 23 and the IMF member countries will get the newly created SDRs in proportion to their existing quotas in the Fund.

It added that about $275 billion (about SDR 193 billion) of the new allocation will go to emerging markets and developing countries, including low-income countries.

Georgieva promised that the fund would continue to engage actively with its membership to identify viable options for voluntary channelling of SDRs from wealthier to poorer, and more vulnerable member countries to support their pandemic recovery and achieve resilient and sustainable growth.

One key option is for members that have strong external positions to voluntarily channel part of their SDRs to scale up lending for low-income countries through the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).

The IMF said the concessional support through the PRGT was currently interest-free, adding that it was exploring other options to help poorer and more vulnerable countries in their recovery efforts.

A new Resilience and Sustainability Trust could be considered to facilitate more resilient and sustainable growth in the medium term, it stated.