FG plans new forex rules, projects N650 ‘fair price’ before December

Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has projected that the true value of naira will reflect before December.

Oyedele disclosed that Nigeria is planning to introduce new foreign exchange rules.

The rules include cracking down on illegal currency trading, which it hopes will result in the reaching a “fair price” by year-end.

The government sees a “fair price” for the dollar at N650 to N750, he said.

As at Monday, the official exchange rate was fixed at N802.59 to a dollar while it traded at N1,165 at the parallel market.

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“We think all of that will happen before December, and maybe in a matter of a couple of weeks we will begin to see the results, such that before the end of the calendar year, naira should find its true value, not the one that is being done currently in the parallel market,” Oyedele said.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, he added that the government plans to clear a backlog of dollar demand estimated at about $6.7 billion, bolster the naira forward market, and set transparent rules for the operations of the official market.

Oyedele added that the government aims to expand the official market to include all legitimate transactions, while snuffing out the illicit “black market” for foreign currency.

The Star