Isaac Okorafor, acting director, Corporate Communications at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has again assured that the apex bank would sustain its supply of liquidity to the foreign exchange market in line with one of its core mandates of stabilizing the Naira against major currencies of the world, just in case speculators expect that it would soon become wearied.
In a chat with newsmen at the weekend, Okoroafor the overarching desire at the moment is achieving a convergence of the Naira’s rate against major currencies in the interbank and Bureau de Change segments of the forex market with the Naira and indeed Nigerians as the ultimate beneficiaries.
In line with this, the CBN is billed to begin another round of forex injections into the invisibles segment of the market, a move that is continuously being acknowledged by stakeholders.
Okoroafor assured that the interventions are in in line with the commitment of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to ensure that those who had legitimate need for foreign exchange were guaranteed access to it.
With the latest policies of the CBN, which cater specifically for SMEs, exporters and importers, market analysts are of the strong view that the Naira will firm up against other major currencies when trading commences this week.
Tony Elumelu, a frontline entrepreneur, was at the weekend reported has saying that global investors were excited about the forex policies of the CBN, which he stressed had brought predictability to the forex market.
It will be recalled that the CBN recently issued a forex policy statement establishing special windows for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enable SMEs import eligible finished and semi-finished items not exceeding $20,000 for an enterprise per quarter. The apex bank also established an “Investors’ & Exporters’ FX Window” aimed at encouraging foreign investors in the country’s forex market.
Okorafor again urged all stakeholders to play their respective roles in ensuring a smooth running of the foreign exchange market for the benefit of the Nigerian economy.