Dollar Sales by BDCs Jump 163% in 6 Months

• Dollar Sales by BDCs Jump 163% in 6 Months

Sales of US dollar to the Bureau De Change Operators (BDCs) across the country rose by 163 percent during the first half of the year, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria‘s economic report.

Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, the President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) said the 163 percent, which amounted to $3.1 billion sales, helped sustain the foreign exchange market and protected at least 25,000 jobs in the sub-subsector.

The report showed dollar sales to BDCs rose from $1.2 billion in the first half of 2017 to $3.1 billion in the first half of 2018.

This, Gwadabe attributed to the increase in weekly dollar sales to the BDCs and the success recorded in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window introduced by the CBN to deepen forex market and facilitate accessibility.

It should be recalled that the CBN increase dollar sales to each BDCs by almost 50 percent in May to $60,000, up from $40,000.

Speaking on the impact of the forex policy, Gwadabe said ” “The overall impact in the economy includes employment generation of over 25,000 in the BDC sub-sector and enhanced investors’ confidence.”

However, said the new automated system introduced by the BDCS will help consolidate on current gains.

“The ABCON automation drive of BDCs operations designed to enhance their visibility and attractiveness is already giving them an information technological (IT) edge in the quest to become direct agents of international money transfer operators”, he said.