The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),
friday approved a Special Secondary Market Intervention Retail Sales
(SMIS) forex window for domestic airline operators and manufacturers to
stimulate ease of doing business in the sectors.
According to the report, the Minister of State for Aviation, Mr.
Hadi Sirika, said the important one-off-stop-shop would fast track easy
clearance of the backlog of matured Foreign Exchange (FX) obligations.
The disclosure made public in a
statement signed by Mr. James Odaudu, the Deputy Director, Public
Affairs in the ministry quoted the minister as saying “also to benefit
from the intervention are raw materials and machineries for
manufacturing companies and agricultural chemicals.”
Also, the
resolution by the apex bank to intervene in the Inter-Bank Forex market
through forward settlement is expected to engender market confidence,
ensure access to Forex by the airlines to settle their obligations and
sustain the integrity of the Nigerian Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange
market.
According to Sirika, the import of this
peculiar exercise is that the CBN will not apply the relevant provisions
under clause 2.4.3 (i) of its Revised Guidelines for the Operation of
the Nigerian Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market which provides that all,
SMIS bids shall be submitted to the CBN through the FXPDs.
Consequently, CBN shall receive bids from all the Authorised Dealers.
“The CBN will also not apply the
relevant provisions under clause 2.4.3 (i) of the Guidelines which
provide that “Spot Forex sold to any particular end-user shall not
exceed 1 percent of the overall available funds on offer at each SMIS
session.”
CBN said, whereas the bids are on Spot
Forex basis as the Authorised Dealers’ accounts with the CBN will be
debited in full for the Naira equivalent of the USD bid amount, adding
that CBN will settle the bids through forward settlements of 2 months.
Customers that are not willing to accept
the settlement terms, the statement averred, have been advised not to
participate in this Special SMIS-Retail.
Sirika, described the special
intervention by CBN as a great relief for airline operators in the
country who have complained bitterly about their inability to access the
required Foreign Exchange to settle their backlog of obligations and
which has adversely affected their operations.
He stressed that the aviation sector is
so critical to the nation’s security and global image that it cannot be
overlooked or toyed with, adding that the apex bank had taken the right
decision that would not only strengthen existing airlines, but also
inspire confidence in aspiring operators in Nigeria’s aviation industry. THIS DAY
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