Economy

No BDC Operator Gets Forex at N305/$—ABCON

Published

5 years ago

31/12/2019

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said that none of its members gets foreign exchange (forex) at rates lower than the standard market price put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This was disclosed by president of ABCON, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, in a statement issued by the group to comment on a petition written against the CBN by a lawyer. The legal practitioner, Barrister J.U. Agoyu, had claimed that the apex bank was running a dual exchange rate allocation regime.

But defending Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, the ABCON boss said the policy on foreign exchange allocation to Bureau de Change (BDC) had helped stabilized the Naira against the dollar.

Mr Gwadabe said Mr Agoyu’s petition to the Senate Committee on Finance was uncalled for, saying the accusation against the CBN governor and its management team of compromise in the allocation of foreign exchange was false.

The petitioner had pleaded with the Senate to compel Mr Emefiele to review the policy of dual exchange rate without delay to keep BDC operators in business.

During one of the sessions at the National Assembly, a member of the committee, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, had said, “There is a case against the CBN governor and his management team written by Bar. J.U Ayogu. A petition before the Senate laid on December 12, 2019 where Bar. J. U Ayogu, Esq, on behalf of the Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria wrote against the CBN over its dual exchange rate forex policy that enriches a few Nigerians and its top management staff to the detriment of many lawful Nigerians and frustrating the policy of the present administration of eradicating poverty and unemployment from all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.”

But Mr Gwadabe, disclaiming the N305/$ rate to BDCs as claimed by the petitioner, clarified that it was not the transactional rate used in the market but used in settling government obligations.

“This is the hand work of unknown faces not ABCON. It is confrontational and lack credible evidence. The N305/$ is not a transactional rate but for settling government obligations.

“ABCON submission to the National Assembly is on Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption and review of licence fee renewal downward submitted to the CBN.

“The petitioner was never at any time appointed to speak on behalf of the BDCs,” Mr Gwadabe said.

He said that no BDC or service provider gets forex at N305 to the dollar and that the petitioner’s claim was completely false, stressing that the CBN forex policy has brought stability to the BDC sector and helped operators to embrace automation which is the standard practice globally.

Mr Gwadabe further explained that beyond the rate differentials, Nigeria needs multiple streams of forex earnings and the enlisting of more channels to attract Diaspora remittances and other foreign capital that will not only deepen the market, keep the Naira stable and boost operations of BDCs.

He said that Diaspora remittances to Nigeria, which stood at $25 billion annually in 2018, remains a reliable source of forex to the domestic economy and should form part of the revenue stream for the over 4,500 CBN-licenced BDCs.

The ABCON boss noted that there was need to make BDCs one of the channels for receiving Diaspora remittances into the economy to create more income for operators, stressing that BDCs remain at the centre of economic development and have the capacity to attract needed capital for the growth of the Nigerian economy.

“Other great areas to focus in diversifying our foreign exchange earnings include promoting Diaspora remittances for economic buffer and foreign reserves accretion as seen in India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) where migration remittances have lifted their economies.

“The ABCON Executive Council under my leadership will continue to promote improved capacity and technological advancement among BDC operators. We are also committed to better skills acquisition for BDC operators to elevate them to viable monetary regulatory partners and lead players in exchange rate stability,” Mr Gwadabe added.

He further commended the CBN management for its progressive policies and for achieving stable exchange rate that aligned with its price stability mandate, noting that with improved availability of foreign exchange, the exchange rate at the Investors’ and Exporters’ Forex window has remained stable for over two years at an average N360/$, and the parallel market exchange rate has appreciated from N530/$ in February 2017 to around N360/$.

Mr Gwadabe said the CBN has been able to create a people-focused central bank promoting macro-economic objectives such as low inflation and a stable exchange rate, along with a focus on promoting inclusive growth and reducing unemployment in the country.

Meanwhile, the leader of BDC operators in Nigeria said ABCON has appointed Mike Akinfolarin & Associates as its consultant/tax Attorneys on VAT, which is a bigger problem confronting the operators as a large part of their income go into paying taxes, adding that in other economies, foreign exchange rate control by government is VAT exempt.

“The law firm of Mike Akinfolarin &Associates (tax attorneys) made a representation on behalf of ABCON before the National Assembly public hearing – the House Committee on Finance Bill – on November 25, 2019 in Abuja. And that remains the position of ABCON,” he said.

Economy

Nigerian Exchange Tumbles 0.46% on Profit-Taking

Published

1 day ago

10/05/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited suffered its first loss this week with a 0.46 per cent decline on Friday, influenced by profit-taking.

The market was under selling pressure yesterday, with all the key sectors of the bourse closing in red when the gong was struck by 2:30 pm.

The commodity index was down by 1.94 per cent, the insurance sector depreciated by 0.22 per cent, the industrial goods space lost 0.18 per cent, the consumer goods counter went down by 0.05 per cent, the energy industry tumbled by 0.02 per cent, and the banking sector fell by 0.01 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 498.56 points to 108,733.40 points from 109,231.96 points and the market capitalisation retreated by N314 billion to N68.339 trillion from N68.653 trillion.

The market participants traded 459.2 million equities valued at N11.2 billion in 15,723 deals on Friday versus the 554.1 million equities worth N14.4 billion traded 16,704 deals in the preceding session, implying a decrease in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 17.13 per cent, 22.22 per cent, and 5.87 per cent apiece.

Tantalizers traded 101.4 million shares for N237.3 million, GTCO exchanged 51.3 million equities worth N3.5 billion, Access Holdings transacted 45.2 million stocks valued at N975.3 million, Zenith Bank sold 21.8 million shares worth N1.1 billion, and Sterling Holdings transacted 15.5 million equities valued at N91.8 million.

The heaviest price loser was Transcorp Power with a decline of 9.98 per cent to settle at N328.50, Haldane McCall fell by 9.57 per cent to N4.25, Meyer lost 9.09 per cent to trade at N8.00, Regency Alliance dropped 6.78 per cent to finish at 55 Kobo, and Sunu Assurances crumbled by 6.73 per cent to N4.99.

On the flip side, ABC Transport chalked up 10.00 per cent to quote at N2.86, Sterling Holdings also expanded by 10.00 per cent to close at N6.05, Chellarams improved by 9.94 per cent to N10.40, Academy Press gained 9.92 per cent to finish at N4.32, and Red Star Express appreciated by 9.90 per cent to N5.55.

Business Post reports that a total of 34 stocks appreciated, while 32 stocks depreciated, indicating a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment despite the loss recorded by Customs Street during the session.

Economy

CSCS, Three Others Weaken Unlisted Securities Market by 0.46%

Published

1 day ago

10/05/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.46 per cent on Friday, May 9, bringing down the market capitalisation by N9.02 billion to N1.935 trillion from N1.944 trillion quoted at the preceding session, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 15.42 points to settle at 3,304.74 points, in contrast to the 3,320.16 points recorded a day earlier.

Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) went down by N1.28 during the trading session to finish at N22.60 per share versus Thursday’s value of N23.88 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.00 to close at N40.03 per unit compared with previous closing value of N41.03 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 11 Kobo to end at N1.81 per share versus the previous session’s N1.92 per share, and UBN Property Plc shrank by 4 Kobo to trade at N1.96 per unit, in contrast to the N2.00 per unit it was sold in the preceding day.

However, the price of Impresit Bakolori Plc went up by 11 Kobo yesterday to close at N1.27 per share versus the previous day’s price of N1.16 per share.

The volume of transactions went down on Friday by 33.1 per cent to 231.6 million units from the 346.3 million units recorded a day earlier, the value of trades decreased by 31.3 per cent to N606.4 million from N882.8 million, while the number of deals increased by 256.3 per cent to 57 deals from 16 deals.

At the close of trading activities, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 265.8 million units valued at N469.5 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion.

Similarly, Okitipupa Plc was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.6 million units worth N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 19.9 million units valued at N765.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.

Economy

Naira Maintains Stability against Dollar at Official Market

Published

1 day ago

10/05/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira was relatively flat against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, May 9, though it marginally shed 0.2 per cent or 7 Kobo to settle at N1,609.64/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,609.57/$1.

Also, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the official market during the session, remaining unchanged at N2,145.48/£1 and N1,818.42/€1, respectively.

In the same vein, the value of the domestic currency to the Dollar remained unchanged in the parallel market yesterday at N1,625/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it remained positive as President Donald Trump announced a comprehensive trade deal with the UK and the cumulative inflows into the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hit a record high above $40 billion.

According to market analysts, this has led to substantial liquidations of bearish short positions, or leveraged plays aimed at profiting from price losses. A position is liquidated or forced closed when the trader’s account balance falls below the required margin level, often due to adverse price movements. This leads the exchange to close the position to prevent further losses automatically.

Meanwhile, the US and China are said to be working on a trade deal but many are skeptical of a deal being reached this month.

Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 7.6 per cent to sell at $0.2229, Litecoin (LTC) improved its value by 5.5 per cent to quote at $103.51, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 4.6 per cent to $663.22, and Solana (SOL) recorded a 3.6 per cent growth to sell at $171.52.

Further, the price of Ripple (XRP) went up by 1.4 per cent $2.37, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 0.8 per cent to sell for $2,366.49, and Cardano (ADA) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $0.7952, while Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 0.3 per cent to $103,670.89, with the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) trading flat at $1.00 each.