A
alexk
Guest
T&T Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) Christopher Alcazar says they are pleased the Export Import Bank of T&T Ltd (Eximbank) is now an authorised distributor of foreign exchange to local manufacturers.
During the launch of the initiative on Friday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the Eximbank facility will provide a capital injection of US$100 million for the initial funding which will provide manufacturers with the foreign exchange needed for export expansion.
Speaking about the initiative, Alcazar said the TTMA was also pleased that manufacturers will be allowed to buy US currency.
“We remained optimistic of the fact of how this would work from the time we started pushing at it last year. But one of the things we had suggested was we wanted to ensure that the system was very transparent. That will allow it to go on rather than the risk of something going wrong and it falling apart,” Alcazar told the T&T Guardian.
“We made some recommendations and it seemed that the Minister of Finance has taken those recommendations into account, for instance how it is going to work and whether the Eximbank will be able to actually sell currency to the manufacturer, or whether there will some facility to put in place where the manufacturer is buying US but then having to pay it back in US, which could complicate it.”
Alcazar, who is the Chief Executive Officer at Vemco Ltd, was unable to say how many of TTMA’s members will be able to access the facility. He said while the TTMA has just over 450 members, some of them may not need to use Eximbank’s service.
“The reason why we have been pushing for this facility is really for the medium and the small guys who do not have a strong relationship with the commercial banks and in terms of the queue they fall a little behind,” he said.
“But with this facility, they should be able to access the foreign exchange. Vemco itself is not as desperate as some of the other companies, because we are doing a good amount of export...as a group we do have assets outside that are earning foreign exchange so we have been able to navigate through these times.”
He added that the facility will also enable the creation of an environment for the survival of small businesses, resulting in greater exports.
To qualify to use the facility, at least 30 per cent of a business’s production must be for export. In the case of existing established manufacturers, to qualify, these companies must agree to repatriate a suitable amount of their for