The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called for more interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria in the foreign exchange (forex) market to boost liquidity in the market.
President, LCCI, Mrs Toki Mabogunje, made the call at a media briefing on the state of the economy in Lagos, yesterday.
She noted that while CBN has adopted the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Rate (NAFEX) rate as the official rate in the gradual transition to a unified exchange rate system, the currency market is still beset with persisting liquidity challenges evidenced by wide premium between the NAFEX and parallel market rates.
Mabogunje said there is a need for CBN to scale up its intervention efforts and roll out more friendly supply-side policies to boost liquidity in the market.
This, according to her, would help bolster investor confidence and attract foreign investment inflows into the economy.
She stated: “LCCI welcomes the adoption of NAFEX as the official exchange rate. The unification is expected to improve the country’s currency management framework given that the multiple exchange rate system had been creating uncertainty issues and sources of arbitrage.
“The development is expected to bolster confidence of foreign investors in the economy.
“The move will also help the country to unlock external financing opportunities particularly from key multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF, who had for long advocated for a unified and flexible exchange rate system.
“However, we note the forex market is still faced with liquidity challenge. Many investors are lamenting about the difficulties in accessing foreign exchange for the importation of raw materials, equipment and critical inputs for production and processing
Vanguard
