The naira on Thursday, August 11,appreciated to N314.75 to the dollar at the interbank forex market, stronger than the N317 to the dollar it closed on Wednesday, August 10.
The positive development was attributed to an intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, which sold dollars to boost liquidity and help the naira to strengthen against the greenback.
The apex bank asked some traders to bid for $1.5 million each, Reuters reported, adding that the Bank had been selling hard currency since this week. A total of $6.27 million was traded on Thursday.
Meanwhile, CBN, in a statement last night said it came to its notice that,despite its transparency in the licensing of IMTOs in Nigeria, some persons have continued to allege that the Bank has stopped the licensing of interested IMTOs in the country.
“The CBN wishes to state, unequivocally, that it has not foreclosed the licensing of interested players in the IMTO space in Nigeria.
It said: “Therefore, interested applicants are required to forward their requests for licensing to the Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, in line with the CBN Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (2014), which among other things, specifies the minimum technical and business requirements for various participants in the international money transfer services industry in Nigeria.The aforementioned guidelines can be downloaded from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
The CBN stressed that it remains committed to providing an enabling environment for international money transfer services in Nigeria.
