CBN To Stop Forex Sale To Banks By End Of 2022, Target $200Bn From Non-Oil Exports

This was made known in Abuja on Thursday by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele at the end of the Bankers’ Committee Meeting.

According to Emefiele, banks need to start sourcing their Forex from export proceeds to give their customers.

He said, “The era is coming to an end when, because your customers need $100 million in foreign exchange or $200 million, you now want to pack all the dollars and pass it to CBN to give you dollars.

“It is coming to an end before or by the end of this year. We will tell them don’t come to the Central Bank for foreign exchange again, go and generate their export proceeds.

“When those export proceeds come, we will fund them at 5 per cent for you, and they will earn a rebate. Then you can sell those proceeds to your customers that want 100 million dollars. But to say you will continue to come to the Central Bank to give you dollars, we will stop it.

“Nigeria cannot continue to depend on FX earnings to fund its import obligations from revenue coming from earnings from products where we cannot determine both price and quantity.”

Emefiele also announced the introduction of the RT200 FX programme; the apex bank’s new Forex repatriation scheme.

RT200 FX Programme which means ‘Race to $200 billion in FX Repatriation’ which would enable the country to generate $200 billion in Forex repatriation, exclusively from non-oil exports, over the next 3 to 5 years.

He said, “Under the programme, which is to take effect immediately, the apex bank will provide concessionary and long-term loans for business people who are interested in expanding existing plants or building new ones for the sole purpose of adding significant value to non-oil commodities before exporting same.

“These loans will have a tenure of 10 years, with a 2-year moratorium and an interest rate of 5 per cent.”

The newly introduced programme will have 5 key anchors; Value-Adding Exports Facility, Non-Oil Commodities Expansion Facility, Non-Oil FX Rebate Scheme, Biannual Non-Oil Export Summit and Dedicated Non-Oil Export Terminal.

The RT200 FX Programme is expected to be similar to the Naira-For-Dollar scheme for diaspora remittances where exporters would be paid N5 for every $1 they put into the country’s economy.