Chad to receive $1.1 billion debt relief under HIPC - fin min

DAKAR (Reuters) - Chad should receive some $1.1 billion in debt relief after reaching the completion point of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), the finance minister said. Kordje Bedoumra said growth in the petroleum exporting central African nation was expected to slow this year to around 5 percent, from 7 percent in 2014, due to the impact of a slump in international oil prices. The IMF said on Monday that Chad had completed the necessary steps for HIPC debt relief but said a formal announcement required the approval of the World Bank Executive Board. It did not provide further details. “The debt relief will be worth around $1.1 billion,” Bedoumra told Reuters in an interview. "Achieving completion point is not just about debt relief, it is also recognition of the reforms undertaken by Chad and its management of public finances." "Our objective is to reach 5 percent growth for this year, taking into account all the financial help that we are receiving," he added. The IMF also announced on Monday that it had increased its existing $111 million, three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme with Chad by a further roughly $37 million. The minister said this would help to cover not only the slump in international oil prices but also the cost to Chad of carrying out operations against the Boko Haram militant group in neighbouring Nigeria. "The international community understands Chad’s position and supports it, because Chad is like a dike for risks in the Sahel and if that dike fails the situation will be worse still," said Bedoumra, who is a candidate for the presidency of the African Development Bank, due to be announced in May. (Reporting by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Dominic Evans and Susan Thomas)