Stephen Bailey-Smith, Head of African Research at Standard Bank has commended the move by Nigeria’s Central Bank to lift the one-year restriction associated with the holding period of the Certificate of Capital Importation (CCI) in the fixed income market.
The restriction, which required foreign investors to hold their Naira position for a year if they purchased government securities in Nigeria, has acted as an impediment to capital inflows as international investors were deterred from locking into a Naira denominated position for such a time frame in the post-Lehman world.
“We see this development as a positive breakthrough that should further integrate Nigeria into the global financial system and allow foreign investors to take advantage of attractive double-digit yields especially as the country’s fixed income secondary market is relatively liquid”. Bailey- Smith said.
He was speaking at the Standard Bank’s African Investors Conference held in London. The conference which brings together the bank’s clients, policymakers and investors, stimulates debate around the opportunities afforded by the African continent, by focusing on economic growth and the continent's entrepreneurial outlook.
Speaking at the conference in London last week, Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria had pronounced that the one-year restriction will be lifted on the 1 July 2011. He is optimistic that “This will boost the external competitiveness of Nigerian debt instruments, compared with its emerging market and frontier market peers where FX restrictions are non-existent.”
The African Investors Conference programme involves a combination of keynote speakers, informal roundtable meetings and breakout sessions with high profile delegates from across Africa.
This year’s conference brought together African policymakers; leading institutional investors from the US, UK and EMEA, as well as senior representatives from leading African companies including Kenya Airways, Sacoil Holdings and Copperbelt Energy Corporation.
Standard Bank’s next investor conference will take place in New York from 26-27th September and in Kenya towards the end of this year.
The restriction, which required foreign investors to hold their Naira position for a year if they purchased government securities in Nigeria, has acted as an impediment to capital inflows as international investors were deterred from locking into a Naira denominated position for such a time frame in the post-Lehman world.
“We see this development as a positive breakthrough that should further integrate Nigeria into the global financial system and allow foreign investors to take advantage of attractive double-digit yields especially as the country’s fixed income secondary market is relatively liquid”. Bailey- Smith said.
He was speaking at the Standard Bank’s African Investors Conference held in London. The conference which brings together the bank’s clients, policymakers and investors, stimulates debate around the opportunities afforded by the African continent, by focusing on economic growth and the continent's entrepreneurial outlook.
Speaking at the conference in London last week, Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria had pronounced that the one-year restriction will be lifted on the 1 July 2011. He is optimistic that “This will boost the external competitiveness of Nigerian debt instruments, compared with its emerging market and frontier market peers where FX restrictions are non-existent.”
The African Investors Conference programme involves a combination of keynote speakers, informal roundtable meetings and breakout sessions with high profile delegates from across Africa.
This year’s conference brought together African policymakers; leading institutional investors from the US, UK and EMEA, as well as senior representatives from leading African companies including Kenya Airways, Sacoil Holdings and Copperbelt Energy Corporation.
Standard Bank’s next investor conference will take place in New York from 26-27th September and in Kenya towards the end of this year.
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