Government eases controls on dollar buying

The government is further relaxing controls on foreign exchange trading in the country, including those intended to help the export sector facilitate its import transactions.

The assurance was made to exporters by lawyer Josephine de Guia, assistant manager of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ International Department, amidst hopes for a relaxation of policies involving the purchase of dollars for their raw material imports.   

De Guia said authorized agent banks (AABs) are now allowed to sell dollars up to $100,000 without BSP approval.       

However, the purchase of dollars for payments exceeding $100,000 shall continue to require prior BSP approval, she said. 

Likewise, the BSP relaxed the requirements on standby letters of credit and lower transaction costs for trade-related transactions, she said. 

She said the limit on the amount of dollars that may be purchased to fund outward investments has been raised from $12 million to $30 million per investor per year.      

The BSP also increased the limit for non-trade current account transactions from $10,000 to $30,000 per transaction without supporting documents, she added.

Aside from these measures, the BSP also simplified the documentation requirements for trade and non-trade expenses.

“We also allowed the use of forex swaps without restriction on tenor to cover customers’ funding requirements in addition to hedging existing forex obligations,” she said. “This facilitates hedging of forex exposures and funding requirements of exporters.” 

De Guia added that reporting requirements for certain import and derivatives transactions have been streamlined to facilitate the payment of import transactions of exporters and encourage dollar outflows which will help stem the peso appreciation. 

It also allowed banks with foreign currency deposit units (FCDU) licensed to deposit with foreign banks abroad to expand their funding sources, she added.  — Philexport News and Features