The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plans to unveil a new FX bidding regime to support Nigerian companies in need of Forex, particularly those involved in local production and job creation.
This was disclosed by the Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele who spoke at the launch of the 100 for 100 Policy for Production and Productivity (PPP), in Abuja, yesterday.
According to him, the new forex regime would open up greater opportunities to grow the manufacturing sector and boost employment in the country.
The Governor of the apex bank said, “We will soon unveil a new FX bidding regime that is market-driven and supports companies that accord utmost priority for our local production and job creation drive.”
The International Monetary Fund and several operators in the Organised Private Sector (OPS) have been pressuring the CBN to float the Naira in the foreign currency market.
CBN stated that it would maintain support for the Naira and aid manufacturers in the acquisition of foreign exchange. “We will continue to provide all the needed support, both in Naira and dollars specifically for the importation of plants and equipment to actualize these investments,” he said.
“The foreign exchange support will be solely for the importation of spares, plants and equipment needed to increase production capacities of these companies,” he added.
Interested companies were encouraged to submit applications through their banks who would verify the claims in the applications before forwarding same to a dedicated portal which has been created by the CBN to ensure transparency.
Companies that make use of the bank’s import substitution policy and have a major impact on job creation would be given priority, he added.
Mr Emefiele also stated that 100 companies would be selected to receive funding from the CBN every 100 days.
