The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Tuesday injected about $280 million into various sectors of the market in its determination to sustain liquidity in the foreign exchange market since the commencement of its weekly $20,000 sale to licensed Bureau de Change operators.
The bank also announced the opening of bids for $100 million wholesale request for between seven and 45 days through the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).
Details of the intervention showed that the provision for Basic Travel Allowance, Personal Travel Allowance, medical bills and tuition received $80 million, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window received $100 million.
The bank’s spokesperson, Isaac Okorafor, who confirmed the releases, said along with the wholesale bid auction, a total of about $280 million was sold into the market.
Mr. Okorafor said the new window for SMEs would boost the importation of eligible finished and semi-finished items as well as enhance forex supply to the retail business segment of the market.
He explained that the CBN introduced the use of FORM Q for the SMEs, which requires just basic documentation, to ease the documentation challenges usually encountered by this category of businesses.
Under the new arrangement, SMEs are allowed to purchase $20,000 per quarter.
The new form, which must be completed by all SME applicants, Mr. Okorafor explained, requires all applicants to fill with a supporting application letter as well as beneficiary invoice and bank wire transfer.
Eligible applicants, he said, must have operated their bank accounts for a minimum of six months.
On the sale of foreign exchange to BDCs, the CBN said the decision was taken to ensure the high volume demand by low-end users were met promptly.