Economy

The Gains of Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) FX Window

Published

7 years ago

25/08/2017

The implementation of the Investors’ and Exporters’ Foreign Exchange (FX) Window has increased the supply of foreign exchange into the Nigerian economy.

In addition, it has attracted more investments into Nigeria. Consequently, we observed relative stability in the foreign exchange market. Companies and individuals are now able to access more foreign exchange in the market than before to carry out eligible transactions and economic activities are gradually picking up.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced the special window for investors, exporters and end-users of FX on April 21, 2017 as part of its efforts to deepen the FX market and accommodate all the FX obligations.

According to the CBN, the objective of the window is to increase liquidity in the FX market and ensure timely execution and settlement of eligible transactions. The eligible transactions in the window are: 1) Invisible transactions such as loan repayment, capital repatriation, management services fees, consultancy fees, software subscription, technology transfer agreements, personal home remittances and any other eligible invisible transactions. 2) Bills for Collection 3) Any other trade-related obligations (at the instance of the customers).

The CBN stipulates that the supply of foreign currency to the window shall be through portfolio investors, exporters, authorized dealers and other parties with foreign currency to exchange to Naira. The CBN is also a market participant in the window to promote liquidity and professional market conducts.

As at August 11, 2017 the total turnover in the I&E FX window stood at US$7.62bn. Our monthly analysis of the turnover shows that it increased consistently from US$0.61bn in April 2017 to US$2.17bn in July 2017.

At US$1.7bn as of August 11, 2017, there are indications that the turnover in August 2017 will be higher than the July 2017 turnover. The introduction of the window has encouraged exporters to bring back their export proceeds to the country and through the official sources, thus increasing the stock of foreign exchange in the country.

Another important gain of the window is that it has attracted more foreign capital into Nigeria for various forms of investment. Our analysis of the capital importation data from the CBN between January and May, 2017 shows that there was a growth in capital importation in 2017 compared with 2016.

The total capital importation in the five months ended May 2017 stood at US$2.09bn representing a growth of 82.78% compared with the US$1.42bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2016. Other Investments (OI) – Loans attracted the highest capital of US$886mn between January and May in 2017, followed by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) – Equity of US$436mn and closely followed by

Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) – Equity of US$413mn.

We also observed that the capital imported into Nigeria increased significantly from US$244mn in March to US$563mn in April 2017 following the commencement of the programme. The increased supply of FX led to an appreciation in the value of the Naira.

In the parallel market, the value of the Naira appreciated by 7.87% from N396/US$ on April 25, 2017 to N367.50/US$ as at August 11, 2017. At the I&E window, the Naira gained 2.82% from N374.96/US$ on April 25, 2017 to N364.78/US$ as at August 11, 2017. In the inter-bank market it also gained 0.1% from N305.9/US$ on April 25, 2017 to N305.65/US$ on August 11, 2017. The 30-day moving average external reserves also appreciated by 1.95% during the period while the equity market appreciated by 40.66% during the same period.

The manufacturing and non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices appreciated by 5.9% and 9.9% respectively during the period. All these leading indicators show the improved performance of the Nigerian economy during the period.

Although we commend the initiative and note the gains the Nigerian economy recorded since its implementation, we believe that the gains could be short-lived in the absence of complementary measures that will improve the competitiveness of the Nigerian economy.

There is the need for concerted efforts to improve physical and human infrastructure in order to increase local production to meet local consumption and boost exports to generate diversified foreign exchange earnings.

Economy

FAAC Disburses 1.727trn to FG, States Local Councils in December 2024

Published

1 hour ago

14/12/2024

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.

The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.

At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.

According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.

It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.

The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.

The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.

As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.

Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.

Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

Economy

Okitipupa Plc, Two Others Lift Unlisted Securities Market by 0.65%

Published

7 hours ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.

On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.

Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.

At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.

In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Trades N1,533/$1 at Official Market, N1,650/$1 at Parallel Market

Published

8 hours ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.

The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.

The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.

The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.

Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.

In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.