Certificate of Capital Importation goes electronic today, says CBN

Effective from Monday (today) September 11, 2017, the processing of Certificate of Capital Importation in Nigeria shall only be done electronically on the eCCI platform, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed.

This was made known in a circular to authorised dealers and the general publics obtained on Friday and signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department at CBN, W.D. Gotring .

According to the apex bank, this is in a bid to enhance transparency and efficient processing of foreign investment flows to the country.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria hereby informs the authorised dealers and the public of the deployment of Electronic Certificate of Capital Importation (eCCI) platform. Accordingly, the eCCI shall replace the  hard copy CCI normally issued in respect of all capital inflows either in form of cash or machinery/equipment. Please note and ensure compliance accordingly,” the circular read in part.

Capital Importation deals with inflows of cash (foreign currency inflow) for investment as equity or loan, and also for importation of machinery and equipment for investment as equity or loan. This is followed by a certificate of capital importation (“CCI”) issued by the banks aimed at providing customers with statutory evidence of capital inflow/investment into the country. It legitimises and facilitates the repatriation of dividends, interest/coupon and capital to the investor. It also facilitates repayment on foreign loans along with interests accrued.

A recent report by the National Bureau Of Statistics, (NBS) showed that three banks, Stanbic IBTC, Citi Bank Nigeria and Standard Chartered Bank) accounted for 70.7 per cent or $1.27 billion of total estimated $1.792 billion capital importation for the second quarter of this year. The report concluded that the remaining 22 banks accounted for the balance.

The NBS report said that Nigeria’s capital importation rose 95 per cent to $1.79 billion in Q2, representing a 95 per cent growth from $884.1 million recorded in Q1 2017. This, according to some analysts is an indication that portfolio investors are making bold return to bourse. Analysts at the weekend attributed the stable CBN foreign exchange management as responsible.

Specifically, the NBS noted that the main driver of the growth in capital importation in the review period was portfolio investments, which increased by 145.7 per cent, followed by other investments growing by 95.02 per cent, and then foreign direct investment (FDI) increasing by 29.8 per cent over the previous quarter.

A month-on-month analysis of capital importation in the second quarter shows that the month of May recorded the highest of amount of capital importation ($616.5 million), followed by June with $612.6million and May with $563.3 million.

“Portfolio Investment was the largest component of imported capital in the second quarter of 2017, accounting for $770.5 million, or 43.0 percent of the total. It was closely followed by other investments, which accounted for $747.5 million, or 41.7 percent, and then FDI, which accounted for $274.4 or 15.3 percent during the quarter,” the NBS noted.

Related