NIGERIA TO ISSUE 1.5 BILLION DLRS OF NOTES
Nigeria plans to issue on April 7 a
further 1.5 billion dlrs in short-term promissory notes to its
uninsured trade creditors in connection with existing arrears
on those debts, Law Debenture Trust Corp Plc said as trustee
for the notes.
    It said Nigeria also plans to hold talks with a newly
appointed representative for those creditors fairly soon, and
that Nigeria also will call "at an early date" an extraordinary
meeting of noteholders, including holders of the new notes. The
purpose of that meeting will be to consider a resolution to the
arrears on the trade debt and the promissory notes.
    Nigeria missed the first principal payment due on the notes
last autumn and another payment of about 30 mln dlrs that was
due in early January because of a cash shortage, which stemmed
partly from the drop in oil prices last year.
    An official of the Law Debenture Trust said he did not know
when the new representative for the noteholders, David Murison,
would meet the Nigerians. He noted the Nigerians currently are
attempting to negotiate bilateral agreements with members of
the Paris Club of western creditor governments under a
multilateral pact on these debts reached in December. So far,
bilateral accords have been reached with the U.K. And France.
    Law Debenture Trust, as trustee for the notes, has been
attempting to organise a meeting between the note holders and
Nigeria for the last coupole of months. The appointment of
Murison, chairman of Westpac Banking Corp's Mase Westpac Ltd
unit in London, was made in an effort to better coordinate
these efforts.
    The Law Debenture official said Murison will begin talks
with Nigeria as soon as they return to London. And although it
is hoped that a meeting of all note holders could be held by
end-May, he said this may not be possible since four weeks
notice of the meeting is required by law.
    The discussions with the note holders are being held in
conjunction with proposals to rescheduling Nigeria's debt to
commercial banks and official credit agencies.
    When talks began last April on rescheduling part of the
country's approximate 19 billion dlrs of foreign debt, the
commercial banks insisted that it be contingent on Nigeria
obtaining a rescheduling of its official debts as well. The
Nigerians then extended this to include all uninsured trade
debt.
    The commercial bank package has yet to be signed due in
part to the reluctance of Japanese banks, which have a
relatively small exposure, to participate.
 REUTER
