*The Central Bank of Nigeria announces the lifting of ban on 43 items earlier restricted from purchasing Forex, stating as the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market liquidity improves, its intervention will 鈥榞radually decrease鈥� in the economy

Gbenga Kayode | 绿帽献妻

As part of its continued regulatory interventions to boost liquidity in the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted the ban on 43 items earlier imposed under the leadership of Mr. Godwin Emefiele, former CBN Governor.

绿帽献妻 reports Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, Director of Corporate Communications at CBN, who stated this in a circular issued Thursday, October 12, 2023, said CBN would continue to promote orderliness and professional conduct by all participants in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market to ensure market forces determine exchange rates on a Willing Buyer – Willing Seller principle.

Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of Central Bank聽 of Nigeria

The Bankers鈥� Bank also reiterated that the prevailing Foreign Exchange (FX) rates should be referenced from platforms such as the CBN Web site, FMDQ, and other recognised or appointed trading systems to promote price discovery, transparency, and credibility in the FX rates.

AbdulMumin noted: 鈥淎s part of its responsibility to ensure price stability, the CBN will boost liquidity in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market by interventions from time to time. As market liquidity improves, these CBN interventions will gradually decrease.

The banking sector regulator also announced the lifting of ban on 43 items earlier restricted from accessing and purchasing Forex in the country.

It said: 鈥淚mporters of all the 43 items previously restricted by the 2015 Circular referenced TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/010 and its addendums are now allowed to purchase foreign exchange in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.鈥�

The CBN stressed its commitment to accelerating efforts at clearing the FX backlog with existing participants and will continue dialogue with stakeholders to address the issue.

Tha Bank stated: 鈥淭he CBN has set as one of its goals the attainment of a single FX market. Consultation is ongoing with market participants to achieve this goal.聽聽聽 Participants and the general public are to be guided by the above.鈥�

It is recalled that the Bank, June 2015, had announced that some 41 items were 鈥淣ot Valid for Foreign Exchange鈥�, on the grounds that they could easily be produced in Nigeria rather than being imported into the West African country.

Some of the affected items include rice, cement, margarine, palm kernel, palm oil products, vegetable oils, meat and processed meat products, vegetables and processed vegetable products, poultry, tomatoes/tomato paste, soap and cosmetics, and clothes.

Other items include private airplanes/jets, Indian incense, tinned fish in sauce, cold rolled steel sheets, ggalvanised teel sheets, roofing sheets, wheelbarrows, head pans, metal boxes/containers, enamelware, steel drums and pipes, wire mesh, steel nails, wood particle boards, and panels.

Equally affected were security and razor wire, wood particle and fiber boards and panels, wooden doors, furniture, toothpicks, glass/glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, tiles (vitrified, ceramics), textiles, wooden fabrics, plastic/rubber products, polypropylene granules, and cellophane wrappers.

The CBN, however, later added fertilizer and maize/corn to the list of banned items from the Forex market.

The I&E market functions by a 鈥渨illing buyer, willing seller鈥� system, where an entity with demand for FX seeks out another entity with FX to sell at an agreed price through an authorised dealer, stated the banking regulator.

Kindly Share This Story