Exclusive: Lebanon to slash official exchange rate from end of October, finance min says

BEIRUT, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Lebanon plans to slash its official alternate fee from the tip of October, changing the 1,507 per greenback fee adopted 25 years in the past with a fee of 15,000 in a step in direction of unifying quite a few alternate charges, the finance minister informed Reuters.

The pound has slumped by greater than 95% from the official fee since Lebanon fell into monetary disaster three years in the past, with {dollars} at the moment altering palms at round 38,000 on a parallel market.

Finance Minister Youssef Khalil mentioned casting off the 1,507 fee was a “good begin”.

“That is the place the state has taken as we speak,” he mentioned.

He mentioned the federal government can be explaining the transfer to the general public over the following month, after which the 1,507 fee can be abolished.

It marks a milestone within the meltdown that has swept Lebanon since 2019, plunging swathes of the inhabitants into poverty within the worst disaster because the 1975-90 civil conflict.

Lebanese authorities launched the 1,507 fee in 1997.

Unifying the quite a few alternate charges is certainly one of a number of situations set by the IMF for Lebanon to safe a badly wanted help package deal. Final week, the IMF mentioned Lebanon’s progress in implementing reforms remained very gradual.

On Monday, the parliament accredited a state funds that utilized the 15,000 fee to customs taxes, which Khalil mentioned paved the way in which for the choice introduced on Wednesday.

Reporting by Laila Bassam, Timour Azhari and Tom Perry; Modifying by Alison Williams and Hugh Lawson

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