Finance Minister Laziz Faid gave more details regarding the increase in the tourist allowance for Algerians and the opening of exchange offices.
Indeed, it was yesterday, Tuesday April 4, 2023 that the Minister raised these two subjects during a plenary session at the National People’s Assembly (APN) devoted to the examination of the monetary and banking bill, chaired by the Vice-President of the Lower House of Parliament, Ghali Lansari, in the presence of the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Basma Azouar.
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Concerning the opening of exchange offices, the Minister affirmed that the Bank of Algeria is in the process of putting in place the regulatory texts relating to the creation and operation of these offices which will be ready as soon as the law on currency and the credit will come into effect, adding that these offices can be opened in different strategic points (airports, ports, tourist areas), and through the different cities and wilayas to attract foreign currencies, while revising the profit margin of these offices.
Regarding the increase in the tourist allowance, the Minister of Finance said that a study “is being carried out by the Bank of Algeria in this regard”.
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Investment in Algeria: what measures to fight against bureaucracy?
In addition, the Minister of Finance, Laziz Faid, also indicated that his sector had taken a battery of measures concerning the granting of credits by banks for the promotion of investment and the fight against bureaucracy.
Concerning “the bureaucracy in the banks, the rigorous conditions for the granting of credits as well as the quotas of financing which do not favor the investment”, the minister answered that “the commercial banks in particular public which finance mainly the economy and investment granted more than 11,000 billion dinars of credits at the end of 2022, of which 75% intended for investment and 55% for the private sector”.
So, in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Finance, the processing time for credit files has been reduced to a maximum of one month, all types of credit combined,” Faid added.
To conclude, the banks have launched projects allowing the digitization of credit applications and the establishment of a remote internet monitoring system for applications, according to the minister.
