A report by FBN Capital, the investment and research arm of FBN Holdings, has revealed that the Investors and Exporters, I&E Forex Window has attracted $11.2 billion as at September 15,
The foreign exchange reserves which currently stands at $33 billion is expected to cover 8.1 months imports, when imports of services are added, it said.
The research firm said: “The pick-up in oil production has been an obvious positive for accumulation. Officials are encouraging the view that it is back at, or close to the 2.0 million barrels per day level. Further, the FGN may well return to the Eurobond market this year. The heavily-oversubscribed Iraqi sovereign issue last month without US guarantees was a reminder of the strength of the market.”
Continuing, it said: “On the basis of the balance of payments for 2016, reserves at end-August provided 10.8 months’ merchandise import cover. When we add imports of services, the cover is still 8.1 months,” it said.
The report explained that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will also be boosted by the signals from the I&E window, where turnover has continued to soar since it was launched in April 21.
The positive performance at the window has also been attributed to CBN’s policies, especially its instruction to banks and other authorised dealers to implement electronic Certificate of Capital Importation (eCCI) for foreign investors.
The Certificate of Capital Importation is given to foreign investors to confirm the level of investment they have brought into the country. The certificate has always been on hard copy until this policy shift.
The eCCI implementation, which takes effect tomorrow, is expected to boost transparency and enhance confidence of foreign investors in the local market. The foreign investors constitute about 70 per cent of the total transaction turnover in the capital market.
The eCCI would enable foreign investors to easily find out the status of their investments in the country, increase transaction efficiency and ensure that investors get adequate returns on their investments.
