Truworths, a South African retail company, has pulled out of Nigerian due to prevailing economic realities in the country.
According to Reuters report, Michael Mark, the company’s chief executive officer’s comments about the economy show a sign that President Muhammadu Buhari’s attempts to boost local industry are hurting foreign investment.
“We were unable to operate the stores properly any longer because we were unable to send merchandise to the stores because there’s regulation preventing that,” Mark told Reuters.
As well as being unable to fill its shelves, the clothing retailer said it was struggling to pay its rent and get access to foreign exchange which has dried up due to a collapse in oil prices.
In an attempt to boost local manufacturing and prop up the ailing naira, the central bank of Nigerian (CBN) banned 41 items from accessing foreign exchange from official sources.
With parallel market rate almost 50 percent higher than the official rates, it has become difficult for foreign businesses trading in those items to source profitable forex. Even non-banned items are difficult to import due to dollar shortages, sources say.
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