SCCI discusses ‘pertinent’ business issues with IMF delegation |27 March 2015

Representatives of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) recently met the visiting IMF (International Monetary Fund) delegation to discuss matters that is impacting on the business community.

The topics of discussion included ease of doing business, legal structure for PPPs (public-private partnerships), financial services strategy, increase in welfare cost, implementation of various government schemes, access to finance, government  entity competing against private sector, production sector, 5% discount on the US $30 million debt owed to Paris Club members.

The SCCI chairman, Marco Francis, stated that the SCCI gives its support to the PPP schemes being initiated by the government. However, the SCCI felt that information on the projects or potential projects are minimal – and that it will be in the best interest of all if more information could be made available to the private sector in order to allow local investors an opportunity to invest if they wish to do so.

The high cost of doing business was discussed at length and the cost of electricity was determined as a major contributing factor according to the SCCI representatives.

Affordable credit and access to finance by SMEs (small and medium enterprises) were also matters of discussion. The SCCI chairman stated that government has done a lot in that direction, however, more should be done to inform the business community of the different schemes in place.

Bank loans, however, are still out of reach for the SMEs, the IMF delegation was told.
The IMF delegation pointed out that the country has come a long way since 2008 and that Seychelles is now seen as a country that can pay back its debt. And that foreign debt has gone down considerably compared to when the IMF supervised programme was first introduced.  

The SCCI chairman assured the IMF delegation that a healthy dialogue is on-going and developing positively between the SCCI and government, and this policy of engagement is serving both the public and private sector well.