Uncategorized

Nigeria’s forex inflow increases as overseas remittances rise

Published

9 months ago

March 9, 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria reported that foreign exchange inflows to the country reached $2.3 billion in February, driven by a surge in remittances from overseas and a resurgence of interest from international investors.

Nigeria has been severely impacted by a lack of dollars, which has caused the naira to fall to all-time lows in recent weeks and led the central bank to weaken the currency twice in less than a year.

Hakama Sidi Ali, a spokesman for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), foreign investors purchased at least $1 billion worth of Nigerian assets this month, increasing the total amount of portfolio inflows received to $2.3 billion. In contrast, $3.9 billion is allocated for the entirety of 2023.

Sidi Ali said in a statement that CBN statistics also revealed that international remittances more than doubled to $1.3 billion in February from $300 million the month before.

“All the different measures we have taken to boost reserves and create more liquidity in the markets have started to pay off,” CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said in the statement.

In order to increase forex liquidity, the CBN has implemented a number of policies, such as restricting the amount of foreign currency that banks can store, prohibiting street trading of foreign currency, and capping net open positions at 20% of shareholders’ funds. peak levels reached during the session.

According to Sidi Ali, higher currency inflows also persisted in March as a result of investors’ growing interest in short-term sovereign debt following the CBN’s 4 percentage point increase in its benchmark interest rate to 22.75%, the highest level in about 17 years, in an effort to rein in skyrocketing inflation.

Foreign investors’ bids accounted for 79% of the total, or $530 million, at the CBN’s Open Market Operation auction on March 6, when it auctioned securities worth 1.053 trillion naira, according to Sidi Ali.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria Nigeria's forex inflow

Click to comment

Uncategorized

Ivory Coast to create $500 million green financing fund

Published

3 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ivory Coast will establish a $500 million green financing fund to assist sustainable growth, the IMF said.

Africa’s 54 countries have been worst hit by climate change, although emitting less pollution than developed nations. They get only 1% of yearly global climate financing.

The African Green Banks Initiative aims to develop a $1.5 billion ecosystem of green investment facilities by 2030, including Ivory Coast’s new facility.

The Global Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, the Ivory Coast government, multilateral development banks, development finance organisations, and possible private sources will all contribute to the facility’s capitalisation.

The leading cocoa-growing country in the world, West Africa, has been drafting new legislation to help other green finance projects, such as a body to regulate carbon credit management.

The consequences of climate change have disproportionately affected Africa, making cyclones, floods, and droughts worse in recent years.

A 30-month, $1.3 billion loan agreement for Ivory Coast under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility was authorised by the executive board in March.

According to the IMF, the funding agreement will help the Abidjani administration implement its pledge to lessen the negative consequences of climate change.

Uncategorized

1,172 Nigerians killed, over 1,000 kidnapped in nine months— NHRC

Published

6 days ago

November 14, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has put the figures of Nigerians killed and kidnapped by non-state actors from January to September 2024, at 1,172 and 1,463 respectively.

A new data released on Wednesday by the organization reveal that the month of May saw the 298 persons killed, making it the highest, while March recorded the highest number of abductions with 499 kidnappings.

These data which was presented at a workshop on the state of human rights in Nigeria by the commission and the European Union, in Abuja, attributed the rise in kidnappings, killings and child abandonment in Nigeria to the negligence and failure of the state to protect its citizens.

While presenting the data, NHRC Senior Human Rights Adviser, Hillary Ogbonna, gave a breakdown of what he described as the alarming rise in human rights abuses, including kidnappings, killings and child abandonment.

“By January 2024, we already had 150 kidnappings and 55 killings associated mainly with non-state actors. What has become the norm is the killing of law enforcement officers,” Ogbonna said.

“We started with seven policemen killed in January. From victims’ perspectives, we had quite a number of victims for human rights violations for January.”

Also speaking at the event, the NHRC Executive Secretary in Nigeria, Tony Ojukwu, said:

“In recent years, we have witnessed alarming trends and threats against those who dare to speak the truth to power.

“It serves as a stark reminder that the protection of human rights is an ongoing struggle that requires continuous vigilance, action and cooperation from all sectors of the society,” Ojukwu said.

A delegation from the EU which also made a presentation, reiterated its commitment to support Nigeria to overcome these challenges, while urging the Federal Government to work with the armed forces to end this trend.

“The European Union will continue to work around the world through diplomacy,” the Head of EU Delegation, Zissimos Vergos, said.h