CBN Disburses $280m to SMEs, BDCs, Others

• CBN Disburses $280m to SMEs, BDCs, Others

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday continued its intervention in the foreign exchange segment of the financial market with the injection of fresh $280m into various sectors of the economy.

The CBN said in a statement by its Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, that it had also commenced the weekly sale of $20,000 to Bureau De Change operators.

The statement said the CBN also on Tuesday opened bids where it offered $100m wholesale, seven to 45 days’ forwards to end-users through the Deposit Money Banks.

A breakdown of the intervention showed that Business Travel Allowance, Personal Travel Allowance, medical bills and tuition received $80m, while the Small and Medium Enterprises window received $100m.

Okorafor said that the new window for SMEs would boost the operations of small businesses through the importation of eligible finished and semi-finished items.

This, he added, would boost forex supply to the retail business segment of the market.

Okorafor further explained that the CBN introduced the use of Form Q for the SMEs to ease the documentation challenges usually encountered by this category of business.

He explained that through the arrangement, the SMEs were allowed to purchase $20,000 per quarter.