CBN News – In furtherance of its efforts at boosting liquidity at the foreign exchange market, the Central Bank of Nigeria Yesterday pumped $280 million into the interbank market to meet forward, spot and invisibles demand even as the naira started out gaining at the parallel market.
Having sold at N410 for most of last week on the streets, the naira began closed yesterday stronger selling at N408 to the dollar, while it sold at N306 at the interbank market. The injection of $280 million by the CBN into the interbank market is asides the weekly $20,000 auction for bureau de change operators.
The apex bank yesterday announced the opening of bids for offering $100m wholesale 7-45 days forwards through the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs). A breakdown of the intervention shows that invisibles such as Basic Travel Allowance, Personal Travel Allowance, medical bills and tuition received $80 million, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window received $100 million.
CBN director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, who confirmed the releases, disclosed that the new window for SMEs would no doubt boost the business of SMEs through the importation of eligible finished and semi-finished items, thereby boosting forex supply to the retail business segment of the market.
Okorafor further explained that the CBN introduced the use of FORM Q for the SMEs, which requires just basic documentation, to ease their documentation challenges usually encountered by this category of businesses. He reiterated that SMEs are allowed to purchase $20,000 per quarter on this arrangement.
He restated that the new form, which must be completed by all SME applicants, requires the applicant to fill the form with a supporting application letter as well as beneficiary invoice and bank wire transfer. According to him, eligible applicants must have operated their bank accounts for a minimum of six months.
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