LEADERSHIP Sunday learnt that there are currently more than five different rates in the nation’s foreign exchange market.
There have been several calls for the CBN to harmonise the multiple exchange rates in operation, a situation that has remained a source of concern for multilaterals and foreign portfolio investors . The 30-day moving average of the reserves stands at $35.226 billion as of April 15, 2021 compared to $35.647 which it was at the beginning of the year and $36.521 billion which was the highest it has been this year.
Last year, the CBN had obtained a court order freezing 65 bank accounts of 12 companies over allegations of manipulation of the foreign exchange market. Some of the companies involved had been operating as an alternative foreign exchange market, which has an exchange rate that is close to the one on the street.
According to the president of the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria Aminu Gwadabe, the segment now boasts of more than N1 trillion annual turnover. The ownership of a number of the BDCs and how the allocations are made has remained a subject of intense public controversy. “What the CBN should have supplied to one market is what they have split. They could have supplied that to the banks and people go to the banks to get those dollars for BTA or PTA.
In Egypt, another regional powerhouse, attractive yields and a stable currency have made them the most preferred option for foreign investors aiming for emerging markets. Also, the president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria , Mr Mansur Ahmed, said the unification of Nigeria’s exchange rate will boost investor confidence in Nigeria, adding that the exchange rate unification will enable stable planned production for manufacturers in Nigeria leading to economic growth.
A senior lecturer at the Lagos Business School , Bongo Adi, said multiple exchange rates would continue to harm the economy.
We only have one exchange rate which is around 500