The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has completed a series of high‑level engagements in Singapore aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s financial ties with Asia.
During the visit, the governor held talks with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on financial-sector development, regulation, market connectivity and innovation. He also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) to establish a framework for collaboration on financial innovation, and convened the Nigeria–Asia Financial Connectivity Dialogue with J.P. Morgan, the Nigerian Exchange Group and FMDQ Group.
At the dialogue, hosted at J.P. Morgan’s Singapore offices and opened by the bank’s West Africa managing director, Mr Dapo Olagunju, Mr Cardoso set out Nigeria’s ambition to build deeper, more liquid and internationally connected financial markets. “The real test of reform is not whether you can attract capital once; it is whether you create the confidence for capital to stay, return and grow,” he said.
He said recent foreign‑exchange reforms are intended to remove distortions, restore transparency and strengthen confidence in the rules governing market participation. Stabilisation, he added, is a foundation for attracting long‑term institutional capital, improving market infrastructure and deepening links with international markets.
Mr Cardoso also highlighted fintech and artificial intelligence as growing influences on financial services, risk management and inclusion, and pointed to opportunities in payments, settlement and connections between Nigerian and Asian banks.
He emphasised that engagement with Asia is about more than investment flows: it is about building durable relationships between institutions, markets, businesses and people, including Nigerians living and working across the region. The visit is part of a wider Asia programme that will include further meetings in Beijing.
