CNN Attributes Emefiele’s Ingenuity To Nigeria’s Equity Market Be One Of World’s Top Performers In 2017  

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CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

The ingenuity of Governor Godwin Emefiele, the head of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in the management of the foreign exchange market helped notch Nigeria’s stock market to be amongst the five (5) top performers in 2017, topping equities markets of most major European, Middle Eastern and Asian countries.

In a CNN report, which examined the performances of global equities’ markets, listed the United States stock market (Average 25%), Nigeria (43%), Turkey (43%), Argentina (73%) and Hong Kong (35%) as the major outperformers. Qatar was listed as the “Biggest loser” down 19% this year despite the big recovery of crude price. The small nation’s economy has been under pressure following its spat with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.

The CNN stated that the Nigerian stock market has so far this year recorded a 43% gain after the central bank made it easier to swap foreign currencies through the special window called the ‘Investors’ and Exporters’ FX Window’ created last April which also helped the country ease out of a short but painful recession, the report said.

However, the report disclosed that the All-Share index is still miles below record highs set in early 2008 when oil, Nigeria’s main forex earner topped $100 per barrel. Crude oil Wednesday reached $67 a barrel, the highest since 2015.

Many analysts are optimistic that stocks in Nigeria could keep rising in 2018.

“If you look at where we stand today, the [Nigerian] market is still one of the cheapest markets on the planet,” said Zin Bekkali, founder and CEO of Silk Invest, according to the report.

The value of public companies on global stock markets grew by $12.4 trillion in 2017, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, which included dividends in its calculation.

The Dow Jones Industrial average shot up by 25%, the S&P 500 surged by 20% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index out shined them with all with a stunning 29% gain, the report added.

Emefiele has received several accolades for thinking out of the box and executing strategies during the recession that helped stabilize the Naira, curbed the recession and started the process of diversifying the economy through the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, an Agro-based initiative that provided billions of Naira in cheap funds to farmers to grow and process rice, millet, maize and beans amongst several others.

Amehnews recall that Parts of CBN’s announcement of the foreign exchange policy said “to solve Nigeria’s economic recession starts with repealing those laws, going cashless with forexes, and closing all domiciliary accounts in the country. After repealing these laws, the apex bank can and should start using naira accounts to make international transactions so Nigerians would have no need for a domiciliary account in the first place. In other words, all international payments must go through it.  This is the most efficient and responsible way forward.

“There will be no need to inject all those billions of dollars it has been injecting into the economy to stabilize the naira. The bank can use this forex to settle bills on the international front from naira transactions by Nigerians. In other words, Nigerians should be able to walk into commercial banks and conduct international transactions using their naira accounts. I suppose we are all aware that the black market only thrives with cash forexes, therefore going cashless with forexes will not only render the parallel market redundant, it will reduce all the inefficient bureaucracy associated with making transaction in foreign currency, it will take speculators out of business, and block the avenues in commercial banks through which stolen funds are laundered out of the country.

“This is the most responsible and civilized way to improve the Nigerian economy. This will improve accountability and transparency and provide the apex bank with more information to adequately clamp down on illicit transactions because with time, the CBN will have enough data to form a trajectory of foreign expenditures. And a deviation from usual transactions could easily be detected and identified. This will put the CBN on the forefront for the fight against money laundering and corruption it has always preached


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