TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia will review its foreign exchange law with a view to reforming it, as part of work by the central bank and the International Monetary Fund, the economy and planning minister said on Saturday, potentially leading to a more flexible currency.
At present, investors must receive central bank approval to access hard currency to fund their operations abroad or to obtain letters of credit to import goods.
The central bank issues approvals on a case-by-cases basis, a process some firms say is not transparent enough and involves too many bureaucratic hurdles.
“It is time to amend the exchange law. Tunisia is heading to review the law,” economy minister Samir Saied said without giving more details.
The current exchange law dates back to 1976.
Economists believe reforming the law will mean steps towards a more flexible currency and less intervention from the central bank aimed at supporting the Tunisian dinar.
International lenders have repeatedly called on the central bank to stop interfering to support the dinar.
The dinar was trading late last week at 2.904 per U.S. dollar, roughly 7% weaker than a year ago, while it had appreciated 0.7% against the euro, according to the central bank.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; editing by Jason Neely and Hugh Lawson)
