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  • CBN releases list of items valid for forex

    CBN releases list of items valid for forex

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday released a list of items that can source foreign exchange (forex) from the market.

    The list, sent to all authorised dealers, Nigeria Customs and the public, has 36 categories. It is  endorsed by Director, Trade and Exchange, W.D Gotring.

    He said the list became exigent following misconceptions and enquiries across market on items that are “Valid for Foreign Exchange”.

    The items that made the list include animal or vegetable fats and oils fractions, hydrogenated- not including palm oil/ olein and margarine; prepared glues and adhesive based polymers of headings 39.01 to 39.13 or on rubber; other plates, sheets, film, foil, and strip of polymers of ethylene printed- only for pharmaceutical and manufacturing.

    Others are bobbins, spools, cops and similar supports of paper or paperboard used for winding textile yarn; uncoated kraft paper and board, in rolls, uncoated kraft paper and board, in rolls, paper coated with kaolin (China clay), synthetic filament, artificial filament, woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, including woven fabrics obtained from material polypropylene fabrics, of the type used as carpet backing.

    The list also includes glass in balls, rods or tubes, unworked, float glass, coloured throughout the mass opacified, flashed or merely surface ground only for pharmaceutical manufacturing, non-domestic heating/cooling equipment, non-electric water heaters among others.

    The CBN had earlier dismissed the speculation that it reversed ban on importers of 41 items from accessing foreign exchange through the forex window. The CBN said the 41 items will not be able to access forex.

  • $1.2b debt: NCC, Mubadala Group, CBN in talks

    $1.2b debt: NCC, Mubadala Group, CBN in talks

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday assured that rift between Etisalat Nigeria and the consortium of lenders that provided facility of $1.2billion to the telco will soon be over soon.

    Its Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Mr Sunday Dare who gave the assurance in Lagos during an interactive session with reporters, said officials of Etisalat’s parent firm, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mubadala Group, who are in the country,  have met with the NCC and are scheduled to meet with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over an amicable settlement of the deal.

    Mr Dare said the likelihood of a take over of the telco by its lenders have been ‘put in abeyance’, adding that there is light at the dark end of the tunnel.

    He said the NCC has been able to secure a priority foreign exchange (forex) window for telcos from the apex bank but with a caveat that the forex accessed would be used for the purpose it was given to avoid capital flight and forex round-tripping.

    Meanwhile, the NCC said telecoms sector contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter  of this year rose to nine per cent.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, added that since the liberalisation of the industry, it has added about N15 trillion to the economy.

    Danbatta, who explained that the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP increased from eight per cent in Q4 of 2016 to nine per cent in the year, noted that since his assumption of office as the EVC about 18 months ago, the industry has been adding between N1.43 trillion and N1.45 trillion to the economy quarterly.

    Prof Danbatta admitted that the quality of service (QoS) offered by the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) has not been impressive, adding that the telcos have been given the marching order to improve or get sanctioned.

    According to him, the continued drop in service quality has really created a huge gap between consumers and the MNOs, “reason for some drop in subscriptions.”

    He said the commission will review the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set for the operators to meet, with a resolve that any of the MNOs that failed to meet up will be adequately sanctioned.”

    Speaking on continuos drop in telephone subscription in the country, Prof Danbatta said subscribers are migrating from 3G to 4G/LTE. “So they rather use WhatsApp to communicate and even make free calls. Consumers are moving away from high call and text message tariffs to a more cheaper and free services,” he said.

  • Senate orders CBN, NNPC, others to submit budget proposals

    Senate orders CBN, NNPC, others to submit budget proposals

    The Senate yesterday ordered  the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)and 35 other Federal Government agencies to submit their 2017 budget proposals for approval or risk sanctions.

    The upper chamber lamented that it was unbecoming that five months into the year, 38 statutory agencies of the Federal Government have failed to submit their budget proposal for the 2017 fiscal year.

    It said the agencies continued to make huge extra budgetary expenditure against the law establishing them.

    Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah (Kebbi South) drew the attention of the Senate   to what he described as the abnormality of the agencies to submit their budgets for the approval of the National Assembly.

    Na’Allah noted that it was wrong for agencies to spend money that has not been appropriated by the legislature.

    Na’Allah told the Senate that he intends to bring the issue to the floor as a motion so that Senators will understand the implications and the need to assist the government to fight corruption.

    He said: “I deliberately decided that I will bring it on the floor, so that Senators will understand the implications.

    “In our commitment to assist this government to fight corruption, we must stand on our feet that every spirit of our law must be obeyed by those holding public offices. I think that if you permit me I will like to come tomorrow by way of motion, so it can be debated on the floor of the Senate.

    “The only approach this Senate can take to assist this government in fighting corruption, is to insist that gross abuse of power and misuse of power must be stopped by every government agency. The only way we can build our institutions is to radically address the issue of abuse of power and misuse of power. I think that if you give me permission, I will like to bring it tomorrow as a motion.”

    Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who agreed with the submission of Na’Allah expressed displeasure over the failure by most government agencies to submit their 2017 budget proposals to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

    Saraki condemned the practice where agencies of government spend money without statutory approval by the National Assembly.

    He ruled that the Senate would comprehensively debate the issue and take a resolution today.

  • CBN promotes entrepreneurship in Calabar

    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) South-South Entrepreneurship Development Centre (SS-EDC) is driving a programme to help youths learn new skills to create micro enterprises, DANIEL ESSIET writes.

    Treating more productive jobs is a major challenge for national development.

    This is because young people have the hardest time finding new jobs, and establishing new businesses to boost economic growth.

    With Nigeria’s high youth unemployment rate, skills are at the core of improving individuals’ employment outcomes and increasing potential for business productivity and growth.

    To experts, providing skills training is one way the government can help young people secure jobs.

    To address this, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) South-South Entrepreneurship Development Centre (SS-EDC) in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, is training young people to become entrepreneurs.

    The centre runs programmes that expose youths to business opportunities, assists them in accessing financial resources and markets and getting the necessary accreditation, and encourages them to make economic decisions. The technical training is supplemented with business advice and training.

    From the programme, CBNSS-EDC  has graduated 488 entrepreneurs.

    A breakdown of their business plans shows that 398 are into agricultural business value chain while the remaining 90 business plans are spread across hospitality, ICT, trading, manufacturing, services and lifestyle.

    CBN Branch Controller, Cross River State, Mr. Graham Kalio, expressed delight at the harvest of seeds sown by  the bank and the fact that some of the graduating students have started businesses and making profits.

    He reiterated that CBN operates in the consciousness that the country’s economy cannot move forward unless MSMEs are supported to thrive and create jobs, and the event is a testimony to that position.

    He advised the entrepreneurs to always remain creative, and that it is only through innovation, that business owners can create an edge for their businesses.

    He charged the graduating participants to adopt the right attitude towards business funds when made available ensuring maximum accountability.

    He condemned the prevalent undisciplined culture towards finance which makes beneficiaries spend loans on things that are irrelevant to the business like marriage, drinking and extravagant lifestyle.

    SS-EDC Programme  Director, Mr. Gbenga Owolabi, charged the entrepreneurs to hit the road with a tenacity of purpose, following through the plans they had articulated.

    He said: “We have worked out how to support each other, challenge set mindset, and break the bonds of waiting for solutions, understanding that with creative thinking, working as a team and accepting our differences, we are a dynamic force that can bring about the birth of a new Nigeria”.

    During his keynote address on “Entrepreneurship and the Value Mandate”, the founding pastor, The Brook Church, Calabar, Pastor Ose Imiemohon, said a man defined 21st century entrepreneurship as jumping out of an aircraft without a parachute and having to build on mid-air to keep him from crashing.

    According to him, “the ability to find opportunity in problems is what defines an entrepreneur and only outstanding entrepreneurs who are constantly coming up with innovation will survive”.

    While testifying to the impact of SS-EDC programme on their lives and business, a rice farmer, Mr. Bassey Itu, said he learnt the importance of product packaging which has helped his business tremendously and thanked SS-EDC and CBN for coming up with Anchor borrower’s scheme for rice farmers which has increased productivity and will soon lead to food sufficiency.

    Another former participant, Mr. Ignatius Okon, said he started fish farming after taking part in the SS-EDC programme. He now produces three batches of fish yearly.

    Another rice farmer, Mr. Akpanke Effiong said joyfully that he now farms three hectares of rice farm and humorously pointed out that he was itching to be at the farm due to the business ethics of dedication which he learned at SS-EDC.

    The event ended with a fashion display from selected fashion designers who are beneficiaries of the SS-EDC programme.

    The SS-EDC over the years have trained over 9442 participants out of which 3560 businesses have  been established and expanded, creating a total of 9,816 direct and indirect jobs.

    The centre has assisted 3035 entrepreneurs to access over N1.6 billion ranging from N50,000 to N10 million.

  • CBN’s $4b intervention narrows official, black market gap

    CBN’s $4b intervention narrows official, black market gap

    The gap between the official and black market rates is shrinking—courtesy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has pumped over $4 billion into the interbank, bureaux de change, wholesale spot and forwards auction. The injection has been in the last three months.

    The exchange rate gap yesterday narrowed to N80 from N214 on February 20. The naira was quoted at N386/$ on the black market and remained at N306/$ on the official market, representing N80 gap. This is a huge improvement from February 20 rates of N520/$ in the parallel market and N306/$ in the official market, representing a N214 spread.

    The CBN has also injected additional $457.3 million into various segments of the market. A breakdown of the offers indicates that both the spot and forwards segments garnered a total of $267.3 million while the wholesale segment got $100 million.

    Also, the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisibles segments comprising of basic travel allowance, tuition fee and medical got $50 million and $40 million respectively.

    The currency crisis started after crude oil prices dropped to a new low, which also affected the foreign reserves and created chronic dollar shortages, frustrating businesses and individuals.

    Reports on the CBN’s interventions showed that since February, the regulator has sold more than $4 billion to boost dollar liquidity, win foreign investors interest and confidence in the forex market.

    The dollar disbursements/ interventions continues as Nigeria’s oil revenue estimated at a monthly value of $2.5 billion. The demand for forex from the market has continued to be about $4.8 billion monthly.

    Last week, the CBN auctioned an undisclosed amount of dollars through book building to settle a backlog of demand for airlines, fuel and raw material imports. The apex bank had asked lenders to bid for hard currency for specific sectors in efforts to improve dollar liquidity.

    Findings on the volume of trading on the Investors and Exporters foreign exchange window in the past three weeks on the FMDQ platform revealed that the sum of $600 million has for been sold by both the CBN and autonomous sources.

    CBN spokesman Isaac Okorafor expressed satisfaction with the level of activities in the market.

    Okorafor singled out the Investors and Exporters segment noting that the volume of activities is indicative of the fact that investors were being attracted to the financial market and the economy.

    However, speaking on exchange rate stability, Managing Director, Renaissance Capital (RenCap) Nigeria Temi Popoola, said the rate at which the naira exchanged against the dollar is inconsequential. He said the most important thing was for the investors to be able to come into the country and exit at will without encumbrances.

    “The argument should not be whether the naira is exchanged at N300 or N450 to dollar. It should be whether investors will be able to come in and go out of the market,” he said adding that the newly introduced Investors/Exporter Window is addressing the challenge.

  • Appeal Court orders CBN to account for Cecelia Ibru’s assets

    Appeal Court orders CBN to account for Cecelia Ibru’s assets

    The Court of Appeal, Lagos division, on Monday affirmed the 2012 verdict of a Federal High Court, Lagos, ordering the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disclose the total value of cash and assets recovered from the former Managing Director of the defunct Oceanic Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru.

    The lower court had in the judgment ordered the apex bank to disclose the whereabouts of the money and property.

    It also directed the CBN to disclose what part of the cash has been returned to Oceanic Bank and its shareholders.

    The High Court ruling followed a suit filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Chuks Nwachkwu, on behalf of Mr. Boniface Okezie, a shareholder of Oceanic Bank.

    The lawyer, in an affidavit filed before the court, averred that Mr. Okezie had asked the apex bank to make the information available to him, in a letter titled: Request for the Information Under the Freedom of Information Act 2011, addressed to the Governor of CBN.

    He said the CBN refused despite acknowledging the receipt of his letter.

    But while affirming the lower court judgment, the appellate court, in a lead judgment delivered by Justice Biobele Abraham George, said:

    “In the result, part of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos division, Coram: M.B. Idris Justice, in suit number FHC/L/CS/494/2012, Mr. Boniface Okezie Versus The Central Bank of Nigeria delivered on 2/10/2012 wherein reliefs 1(e),(f) and (g) sought by Mr. Okezie were granted is hereby affirmed. Wherein reliefs 1(a),(b),(c) and (d) sought by Mr. Boniface Okezie were refused and dismissed.”

     

  • CBN should sanction banks violating forex rules, say experts

    CBN should sanction banks violating forex rules, say experts

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been urged by stakeholders to sanction banks violating its rules on foreign exchange (forex) transactions.

    More than 16 lenders were recently accused by the apex bank of violating its forex rules, including not obeying directives on selling forex to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and also not keen on taking up forex allocations from the regulator.

    On several occasions, dollars made available by the CBN were not fully bought by the banks because of their unwillingness to sell to SMEs.

    For instance, the CBN last week, confirmed excess availability of forex at the interbank market, as banks fail to fully subscribe to the $150 million offered by the apex bank.

    Information from the regulator indicated that the dealers could only pick the sum of $43.5 million, which represents 29 per cent of the $150 million offered for subscription in the wholesale segment of the foreign exchange market.

    Confirming this development, Isaac Okorafor, the apex bank’s spokesman, reaffirmed the bank’s position to sustain the intervention with a view to making foreign exchange available for all genuine transactions eligible for foreign exchange through the CBN window.

    Speaking on the development, a financial expert based in Lagos, Ernest Chukwu, urged the CBN to impose severe sanctions on the banks for their non-compliance with stipulated guidelines.

    While speaking with The Nation, Chukwu said the apex bank should regulate the market and punish violators of its rules, adding that some banks deliberately refused to publish their forex renditions, which is against the apex bank’s rule.

    “The CBN should regulate the market effectively and sanction operators hampering liquidity in the market and those that fail to publish forex transaction reports,” he said.

    A forex dealer,  Abiodun Akindele,agreed with Chukwu. He added:  “One thing I notice is that banks will always like to play smart but this is not the time to do so because such practice is not in the interest of the economy. The banks must learn to protect the economy and help the CBN achieve its exchange rate stability objectives,” he said.

    He enjoined financial institutions to ‘play by the rules’, adding that the interest of the nation’s economy should be paramount in their heart.

    “Banks should start to play by the rules in the interest of the economy .They should be patriotic in terms of sales to the third party. They shouldn’t disturb the flow because the economy is fragile.  Excess unavailability has plunged us in the state in which we are and everyone is a victim, so every bank should play to the rules and obey market,” he said.

  • $43m Ikoyi cash: NIA, NSA, CBN, EFCC shun Reps’ probe

    $43m Ikoyi cash: NIA, NSA, CBN, EFCC shun Reps’ probe

    THE suspended Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, National Security Adviser Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission  (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele yesterday failed to honour the invitation of the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence.

    The House had given the Aminu Sani Jaji-headed committee the mandate to investigate the huge cash discovery through a resolution on April 26 and gave the committee two weeks to report to it for further legislative action.

    The committee’s resolution came after President Muhammadu Buhari set up a three-man investigative panel headed by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to unravel the mystery surrounding the discovery of the amount.

    The committee expressed dissatisfaction that the four parties did not communicate reasons for their absence and issued  24-hour summons to compel their appearance today.

    But, Chairman, House Committee on Public Procurement, Wole Oke (Osun PDP), in a statement, warned of the dire consequence the probe might have on the country’s security, if not well-handled.

    His statement said “the investigative hearing, its reports, findings and recommendations should be treated with utmost confidentiality. This will reduce or totally eliminate that risks of inadvertently revealing highly classified national security information to the public, foreign intelligence and counter-intelligence agents within and outside Nigeria, which could significantly hurt our national security.

    “We must always avert our minds to the sacred provisions of Section 45(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), which treats interest of defence, public safety and public order with utmost primacy.”

    On April 12, the EFCC uncovered local and foreign currencies totalling about 43.4 million  USD, 27,800 GBP and N23.2 million in a flat located on the 7th floor of Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    The money was claimed by the NIA, which eventually resulted in the suspension of its director general and constitution of a three-man investigative panel, headed by the Vice President and a resolution by the House to investigate the issue.

     

     

  • CBN injects dollars to boost

    CBN injects dollars to boost

    A plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pump more dollars into the interbank foreign exchange (forex) market may shore up the value of the Naira against the dollar.

    The Naira appreciated marginally on all trading sessions at the interbank market, opening last week at N305.80/$1 and settling at N305.70/$1 at the end of the week.

    But the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Rate Fixing rate published on the FMDQ website depreciated marginally last week, opening at N376.54/$1 on Tuesday and closing at N377.95/$1 on Friday.

    At the parallel market, the Naira/dollar exchange rate remained at N391/$1 on all trading sessions.

    The CBN has been injecting dollars into the market to stabilise the local currency against the greenback. The apex bank supplied total of $1.2 billion in April into the interbank market, with the intervention frequency of two to three times per week.

    Also, the cumulative forex supply since February 20 remained at $3.61 billion, compared to $5.83 billion sold in January to April 2016.

    There were strong indications at the weekend that the CBN plans to inject more forex through intervention segments of the market thereby heightening expectations that the naira will appreciate significantly during the week.

    The expectations became rife following the inability of the authorised dealers to fully subscribe to various amounts offered by the apex bank on two consecutive times last week. Both events sent jitters to currency speculators perceiving dollar glut as imminent in the market.

    Laying credence to this development, CBN’s spokesman, Isaac Okorafor, confirmed the anticipated interventions in most segments of the market during the week, with effect from today.

    According to him, the Bureaux De Change (BDC) and the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) along with other major segments will also receive adequate intervention with a view to providing liquidity in the entire forex market.

    Also at the weekend, manufacturers praised the CBN over the forex management strategy adopted recently.

    The Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadiri, was quoted as saying that “the recent pronouncement of the CBN comes as a relief. If the intervention is sustained, there’s no doubt that we will have continued improvement in sourcing raw materials.”

    Also speaking, the Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Tony Elumelu, also lauded the forex regime, noting that “the recent CNB policy initiatives, under the watch of Godwin Emefiele, has restored predictability, improved market confidence and significantly added a boost to the value of the national currency, fueling optimism that the economy would soon rebound from recession.”

    Analysts put Nigeria’s oil revenue estimate at a monthly value of $2.5 billion. Yet, the market forex demand hovers around $4.8 billion monthly.