Finance Minister Colm Imbert has promised that some relief to the current challenges to foreign exchange availability is on the way.
In delivering the 2024 Budget in the Parliament on Monday, Minister Imbert expressed concern over the increasing demand for forex.
In this regard, he said he’s met with stakeholders, including the Central Bank, commercial banks and representatives from the business community to come up with solutions.
Imbert said: “I’m stabilising and strengthening the foreign exchange market and I’m doing so in a collaborative process among the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, the commercial banks and the business community, among other stakeholders.
We will set an agenda to determine the causes and effects of the increased demand for foreign exchange, design strategies to deal with the current challenges and establish the most appropriate policy or the allocation, management and distribution of foreign currency.”
The Minister added that efforts are being focused on developing strategies to increase the repatriation of foreign exchange earned overseas by local and foreign businesses operating in Trinidad and Tobago.
He said this is key in ensuring an increased supply of foreign exchange locally.
Imbert said new arrangements for preferential access to foreign exchange for qualified Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) will be implemented in 2024.
The Minister said commercial banks, the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the EXIM Bank have already provided very useful recommendations in this regard.
“I expect to be able to implement this new SME forex facility within the next six months, which should reduce the demand for sales of foreign exchange using credit cards,” Imbert said.
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