Nairametrics| The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that it is ready to clear a backlog of dollar demand in the manufacturing sector by selling dollars to companies importing machinery, airline equipment and petroleum products in a book-building process, Reuters reports.
In the process, the companies the CBN sells dollars to will be required to pay the Naira value now and collect the dollars in two months’ time, the CBN informed commercial banks. The total value of dollars to be sold was not disclosed by the CBN.
This follows the sale of dollars to Nigerians who want to satisfy business travel needs, pay school fees abroad and the like. The CBN has sold close to $800 million already since it announced its new forex policy.
Is that not what CBN has been doing in the forward mkt, now restricted to 60 days max?
CBN ,s priority for the importation of machinery with out prioritizing the importation of the essential industrial raw materials is not going to be helpful .CBN policy is nothing but persuasion to trap public funds into importation of machinery . without raw materials what is the utilization of the machines . Nigeria has Plant and machinery worth billions of dollars laying down idle in the hundreds of closed factories due to lack of raw materials.