By Kingsley Adegboye

The new flexible foreignexchange policy announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, last week is believed to be a turning point for most business organisations currently struggling under the nation’s harsh economic climate. This optimism was expressed by the Managing Director of Propertygate Development & Investment Plc, a Lagos-based real estate development and investment company, Mr. Adetokunbo Ajayi, at an interview session during the 7th Annual General Meeting of the company held in Lagos at the weekend.

Describing the new policy as a positive step and a commendable effort by CBN, Ajayi said: “We know how the forex situation was before in the country. The only source of forex into the country before was the little we were getting. Exporters couldn’t bring in money because of the restriction on forex, and people were afraid then to bring in foreign exchange into the country.

“But with this bold step by the government, there is hope that the economy will begin to take shape, and with the inspiration we have seen from the announcement of the new flexible forex policy so far, we believe that confidence will begin to return to the economy. For the real estate sector in particular, when naira begins to be priced appropriately, investors can bring in money to boost real estate transactions, as developers will have funds for their operations.

You know the market will determine itself this time. This time, there is no restriction limiting the quantum of foreign exchange you can source. So, with this flexibility, we believe the sector will experience boom in no time,” Propertygate boss stated.

Reviewing the performance of the year ended December 31, 2015, the managing director said the company recorded success in its financial results for the year, pointing out that notable improvements were recorded in its various financial indicators. According to him, gross revenue increased significantly compared to year 2014, just as other areas of operations witnessed improvement in the year compared to year end 2014 which included gross profit.