The Association of Corporate Treasurers of Nigeria (ACTN) has expressed regret over the severe lack of foreign currency in the nation, saying that many of its members continue to have trouble getting access to foreign currency to expand their businesses.
Adeyinka Ogunnubi, the new president of ACTN, highlighted that there is no liquidity in the market while highlighting the fact that the majority of its members do not have access to trade financing in a speech on the margins of the former president’s handover ceremony and strategy session of the association.
He asserts that the lack of trade finance is related to the devaluation of Nigeria’s risk ratings and the dearth of foreign exchange.
He stated this: “It is becoming difficult to get trade finance from banks for us to maintain our inventory lines. So we need the Federal Government to solve the policy problems, because that is where the solution is because if they address the policy problems, it will be easier for us to get trade financing, easier for us to pay our taxes and continue business.”
“The issues around multiplicity of foreign exchange is something that needs to be resolved and issues around subsidy needs to be resolved,” he advised.
He urged the incoming administration to prioritize efforts to address the forex shortage and the country’s high interest rates, saying Nigeria must have a single stable exchange rate to encourage both domestic and foreign direct investment and ensure a business-friendly environment for businesses to thrive.
“We expect that the government will recognise that time is of essence. There is no time to waste to appoint ministers, they have to get into office and their first order of business is the economy. We expect that there is a focus on the forex situation particularly the exchange rate.”
“We believe that the first order of the new government is that they have to solve this problem of the multiplicity of the exchange rate. We have to have one exchange rate that drives investment and business-friendly and allows for more forex supply into this economy. The regulatory environment too has to be very friendly,” he said.
According to him, the group is now working on initiatives to boost growth and provide a forum for its members to express their opinions.
“As an association, we are growing and we intend to keep that track record growing, so the outgoing president has done a good job, she has actually taken the association from a point when we were depending on FMDQ, but we are now totally independent and sustainable financially and this is a very big plus,” he said.
“My task now is to be able to take the association to the next level of increasing our sustainability and to also ensure that we are able to build on the current success. We need to ensure visibility of the association and we are doing a lot of training and advocacy for the purpose of our members who are focused on ensuring that they get very good value in terms of the right level of education and information that improves their professionalism and effectiveness as treasure officers,” he concluded.
