Aggregate Forex Utilisation Hit $32.91bn in 1H 2014
Despite the pressure being exerted on As the financial markets continued to weigh the implications of last week’s closure of the bi-weekly sale of foreign exchange through the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) and Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) with immediate effect, a report by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released at the weekend has shown that aggregate foreign exchange utilisation in the first half of 2014 increased by 16.3 and 22.1 per cent to $32.91 billion, over the levels at end-June and end-December 2013, respectively.
“A disaggregation showed that import (visible) rose by 14.5 and 15.0 per cent to $16.63 billion, compared with the respective levels in the preceding period and corresponding period of 2013.
“Under this category, foreign exchange utilisation for oil sector imports, manufactured products and agricultural sector, which respectively accounted for 15.7, 8.5 and 0.7 per cent of the total, rose by 16.6, 29.6 and 53.6 per cent to $5.16 billion, $2.78 billion and $0.24 billion above the respective levels in the corresponding period of 2013,” the report said.
It added that the amount of foreign exchange utilised for the importation in the industrial, transport and minerals sub-sectors also increased by 15.4, 24.6 and 9.5 per cent to US$4.66 billion, US$0.94 billion and US$0.18 billion, respectively. However, the report noted that foreign exchange utilisation for food products fell by 3.9 per cent to $2.66 billion from the level in the first half of 2013, and accounted for 8.1 per cent of total utilisation.
Also, total utilisation of foreign exchange for invisible (services) increased by 30.4 and 18.1 per cent to $16.27 billion, compared with the levels in the corresponding period and second half of 2013, respectively. This was driven, largely, by the financial services sub-sector, which grew by 15.2 and 22.2 per cent to $13.21 billion, over the levels at end-December 2013 and end-June 2013, respectively, and accounted for 40.2 per cent of the total. The sector was driven largely by banking and other financial services, which was 98.6 per cent of the total? The major components of the latter were asset management ($7.67 billion); payments and money transmission services ($3.17 billion); and lending ($1.04billion). Deposits, guarantees and commitments, trading on own account, settlement and clearing services for financial assets, advisory and financial information accounted for the balance.
The report said that as a compo- nent of financial services, insurance services (life; non-life; reinsurance and retrocession; and auxiliary services) fell by 41.9 and 37.9 per cent to $8.66 million.
It added that payment for business services increased by 161.5 and 110.7 per cent to $1.54 billion, over the levels in the corresponding period and preceding periods in 2013, respectively.
Further analysis of invisibles showed that payments for education, transport, communication, distribution, construction and engineering, and other services grew by 34.7, 32.1, 42.4, 173.5, 281.8 and 44.9 per cent to $0.14 billion, $0.72 billion, $0.37 billion, $0.05 billion, $0.05 billion and $0.17 billion, respectively. These accounted for 0.4, 2.2, 1.1, 0.2, 0.1 and 0.5per cent of total utilisation, respectively.
It stated that foreign exchange payment for health related and social services, however, fell by 76.1 and 13.7 per cent below the levels in the corresponding period of 2013 and end –December 2013 to $0.33 million.
Meanwhile, the CBN has disclosed that subscription to its Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) has surged as the volume and value of guaranteed loans under the fund increased by 56.6 and 65.2 per cent to 35,413 and N5.93billion, respectively, in the first half of 2014, over the levels in the corresponding period of 2013.
The disclosure was contained in the bank’s Half year Report posted on its website last week. According to the report, of the total volume of loans guaranteed by purpose, food crops accounted for 24,223 (68.0 per cent); livestock, 3,660 (10.0 per cent); fisheries, 1,397 (4.0 per cent); cash crops, 1,925 (5.0 per cent); mixed farming, 3,593 (10.0 per cent); and others, 915(3.0 per cent).
Also, of the total value of loans guaranteed by category, individuals
accounted for N5.65 billion, (95.3 per cent); informal groups, N0.12 billion (2.0 per cent); cooperatives, N0.056 billion (1.0 per cent); and companies, N0.10billion (1.7 per cent).
The bank stated that from inception of the scheme in 1978 to end-June 2014, the cumulative number of loans guaranteed was 894,954, valued at N77.40 billion. A total of 454 claims valued at N92.75 million was settled during the review period, bringing the total claims settled from inception to 14,691 valued at N546.93 million.