By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved sales of foreign exchange worth $20,000 to each eligible Bureau De Change operators in the country.
Acting Director of Trade and Exchange Department, Dr W. J Kanya, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement said the sales will assist operators meet retail market demand for eligible invisible transactions.
The announcement comes hours after the Nigerian naira dropped in value against the dollar to N1,658.48 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange on Tuesday.
Several parallel market bureau de change operators sold at the rate of 1670/dollar.
The statement further reads: “This is to inform the Bureau De Change Operators and the general public that the CBN will be providing additional liquidity to this segment of the foreign exchange market.
“To this end, the CBN has approved the sale of US$20,000.00 to each eligible BDC at the rate of N1,590/$. This is to meet the demand for invisible transactions.”
The apex bank however warned that operators must not sell above one percent of the purchase rate, stressing that the BDCs cannot make more than N15.59 profit on each dollar they sell to their customers.
The intervention will on the long run meet the demand for invisible transactions and curb the widening exchange rate premium observed in the parallel market.
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“All BDCs are allowed to sell to eligible end-users at a margin of NOT MORE THAN one percent above the purchase rate from CBN.
“Eligible BDCs interested in this transaction are directed to make the Naira payment to the CBN Deposit Account Numbers with them.
“Also, payment confirmation and all necessary documentation for disbursement are to be submitted at the appropriate CBN branches (Abuja, Awka, Kano, and Lagos) for collection of the $20,000.00. Please be guided accordingly,” the statement added.
