A financial expert, Dr. Muda Yusuf, has said the unification of the naira exchange rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria would unlock the huge potential for investment, jobs, and capital flows.
Yusuf who is also the director, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, stated this in a statement, stressing that the new framework will allow for flexible rate adjustments making the market predictable, equitable, transparent, and sustainable.
The apex bank had earlier announced a policy shift in the country’s foreign exchange operations as it collapsed all segments of the forex market into one.
CBN’s Director of Financial Markets, Dr Angela Sere-Ejembi, in a statement, said all windows of foreign exchange are now collapsed into the investors and exporters window.
Sere-Ejembi added that applications for medicals, school fees, Business Travel Allowance, BTA, Personal Travel Allowance, PTA, and Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, would continue to be processed through deposit money banks.
The bank has also announced the re-introduction of the “Willing Buyer, Willing Seller model at the investor and import, I and E Window, stating that operations in this window shall be guided by the extant circular on the establishment of the window, dated 21 April 2017 and referenced FMD/DIR/CIR/GEN/08/007.
This is aimed at improving liquidity and stability in the FX market and is expected to curb poorly regulated practices in the market to improve investors’ confidence and also open up access to foreign investment into the country.
It is also expected to boost import and export activities, especially of the non-oil subsector of the economy and other international trading activities, and thus add to diversification of the economy.
