WorldRemit, one of the international money transfer operators (IMTOs) that was registered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday has commended the banking sector regulator in Nigeria.
The CBN licenced WorldRemit and ten other international money transfer operators. A statement from WorldRemit said Nigerians in the diaspora would benefit from increased competition in the remittance market.
The founder and CEO of WorldRemit, Ismail Ahmed said: “We launched our service to Nigeria in 2011 when we pioneered instant deposits to all bank accounts. Our service provided the Nigerian diaspora with an easy, secure and low cost way to send money home as well as bringing much-needed foreign exchange into the local economy. We’re delighted that we can now resume operations.
“We commend the Central Bank of Nigeria for reaffirming the country’s commitment to building an enabling environment and level-playing field for international money transfer services to Nigeria. Increased competition will help to bring the estimated 50 per cent of remittances to Nigeria that currently go through unregulated, informal networks into formal networks channelled through licensed IMTOs.
“We’re grateful to the many Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora that supported our call for money transfers to be restored. A competitive remittance market provides Nigerians with greater convenience and better pricing.” To celebrate the relaunch of its service to Nigeria, WorldRemit is offering promotional pricing of $0.01, €0.01, £0.01 or equivalent on all money transfers to Nigeria until 30 September 2016.
In furtherance of its efforts to liberalise the foreign exchange market, to ensure liquidity, and make FX readily available to low end users, the CBN disclosed that it has licensed 11 more International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to operate in Nigeria.
The central bank, in a statement signed by its acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, said the move was in line with the existing guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (2014). The newly registered IMTOs are Trans-fast Remittance LLC, Worldremit Limited, UAE Exchange Centre LLC, Wari Limited, Homesend S.C.R.L, Small World Financial Services Group Limited, Weblink International Limited, Cashpot Limited, DT&T Corporation Limited, FIEM Group LLC DBA PING Express, and CP Express Limited.
CBN also reiterated its commitment to providing an enabling environment for international money transfer services in Nigeria.
Some stakeholders in the Nigerian economy wednesday spoke on ways the federal government can take the economy out of the current doldrums. The stakeholders, who spoke at the second Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)-Bloomberg CEOs Roundtable, at the stock exchange in Lagos, included operators from the financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications sectors.
For instance, the Managing Director of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Dharnesh Gordhon, who noted that the middle class is disappearing, urged the government to tackle the foreign exchange crisis, improve infrastructure, saying the problem of inadequate power supply had worsened due to unavailability of gas, forcing companies to resort to more expensive alternatives.
The Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya said government should have a visionary approach to the development of the economy. He said the government should digitise the economy, noting that would enhance the diversification programme and have rippling positive effects on the other sectors of the economy. In the opinion of Executive Director of Chapel Hill Denham, Mr. Ayo Fashina, rather embarking on external borrowing, the government should sell some its assets to raise money to finance the budget deficit. He said considering the devalued naira, borrowing $1billion from the international capital market would come with many challenges that would continue to affect the economy.
An economist and policy analyst, Dr. Ogho Okiti, said the government has just begun to bring out policies that would address the challenges, advising a more private sector collaboration and consultation. He declared that “Money doesn’t grow the economy, policies do.”
He also called for a major programme that would find a lasting solution to the banking crisis, saying the country has not exited the problem of 2009 that led to the creation of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). According to him, non-performing loans (NPLs), continue to increase, saying “I hope we do not repeat the same mistake of 2009. We have seen the symptoms and we don’t know how deep it will be. I am not saying the CBN is not going to bail out banks, but banks NPLs continue to increase. There must be a long term solution so that we do not repeat the mistake of the past.
The acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Washed Olagunju wednesday pledged to increase funding support for the mining sector.
Speaking in Abuja on the sidelines of the International Mining Investment Conference, he said such intervention had become inevitable given the present administration’s efforts to diversify the country’s revenue base. He said the bank had reached out to other financial institutions both within and abroad to mobilise funding to promote mining activities in the country.
Olagunju said the current efforts by government, in collaboration with the private sector to come up with credible data on mining deposits in the country will not only help investors make credible investment decision, but also aid donor agencies’ grant decision.
He said: “We are aware that our government and the private sector are now collaborating to produce the data. Once the credible data is produced, we will be able to catalyse more investment resources into the country, particularly from abroad. A lot of international financiers and investors are willing to operate in Nigeria in partnership with the Bank of Industry.”
In order to be able to play active role of in the sector, the BoI boss noted that the bank had been engaging its staff in capacity development programmes both at home and abroad to acquaint them with international best practices. To match word with action, he said some of the bank’s staff were already undergoing training programmes at the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa.
On the viability of the development finance institution to mobilize funding support for the mining sector, Olagunju averred that the bank has high credit rating.
According to him, “There are a lot of grants that are meant to support solid minerals development. Once there is a reliable financial institution, those donors will feel comfortable to make grant available. The BoI is already well positioned to act in the regards.
“We are supporting real sector in a viable manner; we take our time to identify genuine entrepreneurs. Our non performing loan ratio is 3.87 per cent, which is below the CBN ration of 5 per cent. Also, as at June this year, the collection from MSMEs was N2.97billion as against N2.19bn for last year. This shows that on a sustainable basis, our promoters are paying back.”
Olagunju also restated the commitment of the DFI to the development of commodity based industrialization, stressing that the country would only be able to derive maximise benefits from its verse natural resources when there is value addition.
