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Naira Tumbles to 490 as Dollar Shortage Continues

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Naira - Investors King
  • Naira Tumbles to 490 as Dollar Shortage Continues

The naira tumbled against the United States dollar to 490 on Monday from 487 on Friday, as acute shortage of the greenback continued to batter the economy and the country’s foreign exchange markets.

Before falling to 487 on Friday, the local currency had consecutively closed flat at 485 for four days last week.

The severe shortage of the dollar has put the naira under persistent pressure at both the official and parallel forex markets.

The global crash in the prices of crude oil, Nigeria’s main forex earner, has brought untold hardships to Nigerians.

Economic and financial experts said unless the lingering dollar supply problem was abated, the volatility in the exchange rate and the consequent economic challenges might be endless.

“The challenge with the forex market is still the supply issue; price (exchange rate) is determined by the interplay of demand and supply,” a currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ezun, had said.

According to the Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, the Federal Government needs to access an emergency lifeline of about $10bn from the International Monetary Fund to stabilise the exchange rate and restore investor confidence to the financial markets.

Economic and financial experts expect the naira to weaken further against the dollar as the Christmas holiday begins this week.

They also argued that the crackdown on the parallel market forex traders and the persistent scarcity of the greenback would make further weakening of the local currency inevitable.

The naira had, however, consistently closed around 305.5 a dollar at the official window since August.

A few weeks ago, the naira closed flat at 470 against the greenback over a period of over a week.

The naira had plunged to 470, down from 455 on the back of a fresh dollar shortage at the official and parallel forex markets.

Travelex and First Bank of Nigeria Limited commenced the sale of forex to Bureau De Change operators about two months ago after getting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s approval.

Some forex traders, however, said the scheme had failed to ease the biting dollar shortage in the country.

“What we get from Travelex is not sufficient,” one trader said, referring to the demand in the market.

The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said the sale of dollars to the BDC operators had yet to cut across the country.

This, he said, was partly responsible for the grueling dollar scarcity.

“There are still logistics problems in selling forex to all the BDC operators; this is what is causing this relative scarcity,” he said.

The CBN had asked the International Money Transfer Operators to sell dollars directly to the BDC operators to boost liquidity and narrow the gulf between the parallel and official market rates.

Dollar shortages have caused many companies to halt operations and lay off workers, compounding an economic crisis exacerbated by the fall in global prices of oil, which accounts for over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s budget revenue.

The CBN has struggled to support the naira as the country’s external reserves continue to fall.

Is the CEO/Founder of Investors King Limited. A proven foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Businessinsider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and many more. He has over two decades of experience in global financial markets.

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Insurance

Heirs Insurance Group Unveils Revolutionary Website for Seamless Insurance Experience

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Heirs Life Assurance- Investors King

Heirs Insurance Group has launched a website designed to revolutionize the insurance experience for its customers.

With a focus on simplicity, accessibility, and personalized service, the new website aims to streamline the process of obtaining insurance coverage and empower customers to make informed decisions about their insurance needs.

The website boasts a range of innovative features that make navigating insurance options easier than ever before.

From simple and intuitive navigation menus to personalized insurance recommendations, the website is designed to guide customers through every step of the insurance process quickly and efficiently.

According to Ifesinachi Okpagu, the Chief Marketing Officer of Heirs Insurance Group, the new website embodies the company’s commitment to delivering exceptional customer service.

“Today’s customers want simplicity, and this new website delivers on that request,” Okpagu said. “We are empowering customers to take control of their lives, their businesses, assets, and their most cherished people.”

One of the key features of the website is its personalized insurance experience, which takes customers through a short journey to help them identify the best insurance plan for their needs.

Whether customers are looking for coverage for their home, car, business, or loved ones, the website provides tailored recommendations to ensure they find the right insurance solution quickly and easily.

With its user-friendly interface and innovative features, the new website from Heirs Insurance Group sets a new standard for the insurance industry, making it easier than ever for customers to protect what matters most to them.

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Banking Sector

Safaricom, Access Holdings Forge Partnership to Revolutionize Remittance Corridor in Africa

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Access bank

Safaricom, the leading telecommunications company in Kenya, has entered into a strategic partnership with Access Holdings, spearheaded by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

The collaboration aims to revolutionize the remittance corridor between East and West Africa, marking a significant step towards enhancing financial inclusion and empowering millions of individuals across the continent.

The partnership comes on the heels of Access Holdings’ recent acquisition of the National Bank of Kenya Limited, signaling the company’s ambitious expansion into the East African market.

Leveraging Safaricom’s extensive network and expertise in mobile money through M-Pesa, which currently dominates the mobile money market in Kenya, the alliance seeks to create seamless and efficient channels for remittance transactions.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the driving force behind Access Holdings, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, highlighting its potential to transcend traditional boundaries and foster greater economic connectivity between East and West Africa.

He highlighted the fusion of collective expertise and resources between the two entities, underlining their shared commitment to driving financial inclusion and empowerment across the continent.

The partnership holds promise for addressing the challenges faced by millions of Africans in accessing affordable and reliable remittance services.

By connecting more than 60 million customers and 5 million businesses across eight countries, the collaboration aims to facilitate over $1 billion in daily transaction value, significantly boosting the flow of remittances within and outside Africa.

With the first phase of the collaboration focusing on key markets such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania, stakeholders anticipate a transformative impact on the remittance landscape, paving the way for greater intracontinental trade and economic integration in line with the objectives of initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

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Banking Sector

EFCC Urged to Repatriate Recoveries to NDIC for Depositors’ Relief

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The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has made a fervent plea to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to expedite the repatriation of recovered funds to its coffers to facilitate the timely reimbursement of depositors affected by bank failures.

During a recent meeting between the Managing Director of NDIC, Bello Hassan, and the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, at the NDIC headquarters in Abuja, Hassan stressed the importance of enhanced collaboration between the two agencies in recovering depositors’ funds lost due to bank failures.

Hassan emphasized that the return of recoveries made by the EFCC on behalf of the NDIC would significantly contribute to the prompt reimbursement of affected depositors.

He commended the EFCC for its unwavering efforts in combating corruption and financial crimes, highlighting its crucial role as a key member of the Taskforce on Implementation of the Failed Banks Act chaired by the NDIC.

The NDIC boss also highlighted the existing partnership between the two organizations, which led to the establishment of the NDIC Help Desk at the EFCC in 2022.

He disclosed that several high-profile cases referred to the EFCC were currently under investigation.

In response, Olukoyede reiterated the EFCC’s commitment to collaborating closely with the NDIC to combat financial crimes and safeguard the integrity of the Nigerian banking sector.

He pledged to intensify efforts to repatriate recovered funds promptly, acknowledging the interconnectedness between criminal activities and bank failures.

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