New laws remove foreign exchange controls |03 November 2008

This also means people will no longer have to produce a plane ticket at their banks to get foreign currencies.

New regulations also allow for the rupee to float, and in future exchange rates will be determined by the market instead of by the Central Bank.

These are among the results of the National Assembly’s unanimous approval on Friday of two new laws – the Foreign Earnings Regulations Repeal Bill and the Central Bank of Seychelles Amendment Bill.

Finance Minister Danny Faure, who presented the Bills to the assembly, said as part of the current economic reform programme it is important to tackle macro-economic imbalances, structural shortcomings and other issues that are slowing down the country’s financial development system.

People doing business and travelling will be able to buy foreign currencies at their banks at any time, though the amount they can buy will depend on the amount the banks have in their system, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Faure warned that the new regulations call for many adjustments, and everybody needs to reassess their priorities as the impact on commodity prices will be substantial.

He said the moves will, however, ensure macro-economic stability, sustain the country’s debts and free the government from taking part in economic activities.

The Bank is now concentrating on strengthening its monetary polices, and international experts are already giving technical advice.

Mr Faure also said his ministry is working on new taxation policies, again with the help of foreign experts.