By John Ikani
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has disclosed that the apex bank is perfecting plans to introduce a new market-driven foreign exchange regime to support Nigerian companies in need of Forex, particularly those involved in local production and job creation.
Mr. Emefiele made the disclosure at the launch of the 100 for 100 Policy for Production and Productivity (PPP), in Abuja, on Monday.
According to him, the new forex regime would open up greater opportunities to grow the manufacturing sector and boost employment in the country.
His words, “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.
The CBN boss stated that the 100 for 100 initiative has commenced in earnest, adding that 243 applications valued at N321.06 billion, spread over key sectors such as agriculture, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and services sectors have been received through the portal.
Mr. Emefiele disclosed that 100 companies would be selected to receive funding from the CBN every 100 days.
He added that priority would be accorded companies that key into the bank’s imports substitution policy and making significant impacts in employment creation.
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 that has been created by CBN to ensure transparency.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Minister for Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, commended the CBN for the initiative which he said was in line with government employment creation policy.
