GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Private Sector Commission (PSC) Tuesday described as “very fruitful” the discussions held on Monday to ease an apparent shortage of foreign exchange at commercial banks.
“The meeting yesterday was very fruitful from a private sector standpoint,” PSC chairman Komal Singh told the Guyana-based online publication Demerara Waves.
The government, private sector, and the banks are due to issue a joint statement regarding their deliberations, and Singh, who refused to divulge any information regarding the outcome of the talks, said businesses now needed to plan more instead of operating in a “just-in-time” mode regarding the availability of foreign exchange.
The publication quoted several sources as saying that commercial banks were asked to consider trimming their investments in overseas financial instruments as part of efforts to ease the foreign exchange pressure on the local market.
Last Saturday, President Irfaan Ali told a news conference that he had instructed Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh to convene a stakeholder meeting with the private sector, the Bank of Guyana, all commercial banks, and other key stakeholders.
“We’re going to have everyone in the room to discuss this issue holistically and bring to me a report based on those consultations so we can further examine this matter.”
Speaking during a news conference, Ali said figures from the Bank of Guyana and the Cambios and reviews by the Central Bank Governor and the technical team show that “they have sufficient foreign currency to satisfy the existing demand.”
The US dollar was traded at a buying rate of GUY$202 for US$1.00 and selling at GUY$216 for US$1.00.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo recently observed that several Trinidadian businesses had been using Guyana’s foreign exchange market to buy goods for export to Port-of-Spain because of the prolonged foreign exchange crisis in the twin-island republic.
Guyana has a floating exchange rate, but under the coalition-led government, the Central Bank had ordered Cambios to trade the United States dollar within a GUY$ 3.00 spread for the buying and selling rates.
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