MINISTER OF FINANCE TOO GOES TO SINGAPORE ON HOLIDAY WITH HIS FAMILY

MINISTER OF FINANCE TOO GOES TO SINGAPORE ON HOLIDAY WITH HIS FAMILY

Danny Faure goes to Singapore The Minister of Finance Mr Danny Faure left Seychelles earlier this week to go Singapore accompanied by his wife and children. In all the Faure party occupied 6 business class seats on Air Seychelles, according to a passenger who was also in the same compartment of the aircraft.

No official announcement has been made regarding Mr Faure’s trip, whether he will remain in Singapore or travel further. In contrast, when President Michel undertook an overnight trip to Singapore earlier this year together with the Governor of the Central Bank Mr Francis Chang Leng, it was the subject of an official announcement. The announcement said they went on private business.

Mr Faure follows on the footsteps of President Michel who last week took his family to a “holiday” to Singapore. Under the rules of the Central Bank anyone travelling abroad would be eligible to obtain US$ 400 from the commercial banks, provided the applicant can produce a confirmed airline ticket and has an account with the bank. In the case of Mr Faure it is not known if all his children would qualify for the full foreign currency allowance.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how Mr Faure and his family will be able to cover the cost of food and accommodation as well as shopping with the allowance. A business class return airfare to Singapore costs SR 13,000 and Air Seychelles accepts local currency for this part of the journey.

During the election campaign President Michel promised that he would start “liberalising the allocation of foreign exchange”. Mr Faure was appointed Minister of Finance by Mr Michel after the latter won the election. Mr Faure has presided over the issuance of 5 year government bonds denominated in US dollars which has been sold on the bond market raising US$ 200 million. Faure has also supervised the new budget which has been passed by the National Assembly. So far there has been no “liberalisation” of the allocation of foreign exchange, despite record foreign exchange reserves.

Meanwhile, the parallel market rate rates of exchange appears to be rising with Euro notes fetching as much as SR 14, a 90% premium. This is a symptom that things are getting worse rather than better with economic growth working at the expense of the currency.