Nigerian Banks recovered the sum of N39.4 billion non-performing loans (NPLs) from its debtors in the Information and Communications Technology sector in one year.
As of September 2019, the NPL in the ICT sector stood at N76.54 billion as against N115.94 billion in the corresponding period of 2018, an analysis of statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics has shown.
This figure represents 33.9 per cent of the total bad debts the ICT companies owe Nigerian banks. In situations where the interest on a loan or principal had not been paid for more than 90 days, such facility is regarded as a non-performing loan.
According to the NBS figures, by April 2019, bad debt in the sector had declined to N75.98 billion and it rose to N77.21 billion by June 2019. The latest statistics indicated that the NPL in the sector was N76.54 billion. The ICT sector is one of the several sectors that commercial banks have successfully recovered some of their bad debts.
Economic Confidential reports that others sectors in which operators have paid back a significant percentage of their NPLs are mining and quarrying, manufacturing, real estate, general commerce as well as transport and storage. The finance and insurance, power and energy, capital market and oil and gas sectors, among others, are also involved. The ICT sector has enjoyed access to credit facilities from the financial institutions, recording a total of N2.63 trillion in one year. In one year, the credit given to operators in the sector had been on a steady rise.
Speaking on challenges facing the industry, the President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Mr Olusola Teniola, said foreign currency required to import equipment for capital intensive projects by technology companies was not accessible.
