For more forex inflow for investment in productive activities, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to work with the International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) and deposit money banks (DMBs) to deal with the remittance infrastructure challenges, the cost, initiate portfolios and measures to point remitters in that direction.
The Director General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir made the remark in respect to the Naira4dollar scheme of the apex bank to encourage Nigerians working abroad to remit more into the country and thereby improve the forex inflow.
Ajayi-Kadir however noted that, there is need to dimension the inflows which has historically been 70 per cent for family support and 30 per cent for other purposes, including real estate which carries the greater part.
He also posited that there was also the need to consider where the domestic foreign exchange earners stand within the context of the scheme, asking could a manufacturer who exports his product and repatriates his dollar profit, get his money in dollars and also benefit from the Dollar 4 Naira Scheme?
This way, the MAN boss said operators can guarantee almost a 100per cent re-investment in production and reap all the attendant benefits and even partly make-up for the losses incurred as a result of the poor implementation of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG).
“The average manufacturer who is confronted with a lot of infrastructure and macroeconomic challenges is eminently qualified, if not more qualified, to benefit from such a scheme.” Ajayi-Kadir commended the scheme, which he said was another intervention of the apex bank that is set against the backdrop of the forex squeeze that was aggravated by the fall in oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic since the first quarter of 2020.
