The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted a Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) on August 6, 2024, to address rising demand pressures in the foreign exchange (forex) market and promote price discovery.
The auction saw the CBN sell $876.26 million to 26 qualified banks at a rate of N1,495 per dollar.
With $267.86 million, Zenith Bank was the top beneficiary, ahead of FirstBank ($228.99 million) and Access Bank ($79.09 million).
Fidelity Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Taj Bank, Jaiz Bank, Sterling Bank, and Union Bank were other banks that made up the top 10.
According to the sales report released by the apex bank on Friday, the 26 qualified banks allowed 3347 companies to access the dollars, enabling them to import machinery, raw materials, pharmaceuticals, and other items.
Beneficiaries of Dangote Industries, including Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Cement, Oil & Gas Company, Dangote Agro Sacks, and Dangote Coal Mines, successfully secured $105.33m of the bids.
BUA Cement, BUA Foods, and BUA Sugar Refinery of the BUA Group companies assessed funds through different banks to pay for machinery, infield drip irrigation systems, and bulk purchases of wheat, gypsum, and raw sugar.
Sumal Foods Limited received dollars for glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable fat, and dextrose monohydrate, while Promasidor Nigeria Limited received around $59.772 for Cowbell Instant dairy creamer.
African Foundries, International Towers Limited, Crown Flour Mills, Churchgate Investments Ltd, Nucleus Ventures, HIS (Nigeria) Ltd, and others obtained funds to help with loan repayments.
This auction presents one of the most important FX interventions by the CBN under Governor Yemi Cardoso’s leadership.
Although the naira appreciated by 1.7% following the auction, experts remain skeptical about achieving the government’s target of N800/$ by year-end.
Afrinvest analysts said in their weekly update that the national bank lacked the necessary financial buffer to sustainably fulfill average FX demand for an extended period.
The RDAS auction highlights the CBN’s efforts to manage forex demand, but long-term solutions require addressing underlying economic challenges.
Dangote, BUA Groups among big winners in CBN’s forex auction
