10.19.09
Posted in International Organisations, International relations at 7:42 pm by Robert Klien
It has been described before that Seychelles’ Minister of Finance said the jurisdiction’s presence at the meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank was highly productive. The meeting was held in Istanbul, Turkey. Also, other useful meeting were held when the Seychelles’ delegation was visiting Turkey.
As regards trade development, Minister of Finance Mr Faure and his delegation held intensive talks with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Trade Zafer Ça?layan. Faure has recently revealed that the 2 jurisdictions are to start talks on a free trade agreement soon. This treaty will be beneficial for local consumers and businessmen. The 1st round of the negotiations is expected to take place in November.
Mr Faure also spoke at the small states forum that was attended by World Bank president Robert Zoellick. At the forum, Faure presented a report on an e-learning project prepared by the Ministry of Education.
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10.16.09
Posted in Business and Economy, Double Taxation Agreements, International Organisations, International relations, Offshore Services, SIBA, Seychelles IBC, Seychelles government at 9:54 am by Robert Klien
Seychelles’ Minister of Finance Danny Faure has said that the jurisdiction’s presence at the meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank held last week in Istanbul, Turkey, was highly productive.
Having returned after leading a high-level delegation to the annua meetings, Faure said that the team met finance ministers and executive board directors of the 2 institutions. These were bilateral discussions where Seychelles was seeking the same 45% debt cancellation as it received from the Paris Club from other creditors including China, India, the UAE, Malaysia, Algeria, and Libya. The Minister confirmed that Malaysia has already approved a cancellation of 45% of the total debt of USD 12.1 million, so USD 5.5 million has been canceled.
According to Faure, the result of these meetings was very encouraging because Seychelles received much support and encouragement for its reforms.
Also, in Istanbul, Faure discussed the restructuring of Seychelles’ commercial debts with Dr Donald Kaberuka, African Development Bank president.
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09.09.09
Posted in International Organisations, International relations at 10:09 am by Robert Klien
It was briefly mentioned previously that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed USD 12.3 million to Seychelles. So, the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) announced that the jurisdiction will benefit from this special allocation of USD 12.3 million.
This money is part of a global initiative aimed at helping member countries overcome the negative impact of the global crisis. It should be noted that this is not related to the financial support package that the IMF is providing to Seychelles through the 2-year Stand-By Arrangement.
The money comes in 2 tranches – the 1st of USD 10.1 million was received by the CBS in the beginning of September, and the 2nd of USD 2.2 million will be transferred to the CBS on September 9.
It is worth mentioning that the International Monetary Fund board has approved a global allocation of USD 283 billion for all member countries.
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08.31.09
Posted in International Organisations, International relations at 1:54 pm by Robert Klien
On August 4-15, 2009, a mission from the International Monetary Fund was held in Victoria in order to assess performance at end-June under the Stand-By Arrangement with the Seychelles.
The IMF mission was led by Paul Mathieu. It met with President James Michel, Minister of Finance Danny Faure, and Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles Pierre Laporte. Also, the mission met with representatives of the private sector, parliamentarians, and civil society.
The statement was issued by the IMF delegation at the conclusion of the Mission that said that strong progress is being made by the authorities of the Seychelles in their reform program. The IMF announced that “the program is on track and is achieving its economic stabilization and reform objectives”. According to the statement, “ Aprudent and well-balanced monetary and fiscal stance has been effective in rapidly reducing inflation to the low single digits. All end-June 2009 quantitative targets under the program were met with margins and structural reforms are being implemented with determination. The economic downturn, reflecting primarily a sharp drop in tourism earnings, is easing and the decline in real GDP is likely to be somewhat less than earlier feared.”
The following was noted in the statement: “Looking ahead, the key objectives are to consolidate macroeconomic stability by maintaining tight fiscal policy, and progressively putting in place supporting structural reforms to remove constraints to growth and improve the performance of the public sector. Strong progress on inflation reduction and the appreciation of the rupee has permitted a gradual easing of monetary policy. The preparation of a fundamental reform of the tax system, a major reinforcement of control over parastatal performance, and strengthening of the financial system are proceeding. The tax reform aims to harmonize rates, broaden the tax base, and raise self-compliance, while maintaining the overall tax take.”
USD 12.3 million out of the USD 24 million IMF arrangement approved on November 14, 2008, has been disbursed. About USD 1.4 million is available with confirmation that the end-June performance criteria have been observed.
It is worth mentioning that the 3rd program review mission is expected in October 2009.
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08.21.09
Posted in Business and Economy, International Organisations at 10:08 am by Robert Klien
The economy of Seychelles is doing better than it was predicted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), so GDP for 2009 should fall by about 8% instead of the 11% forecast.
In December 2008, the International Monetary Fund announced that the Seychelles’ heavily-indebted economy will contract 0.5% in 2009 while inflation will rise until the 2nd quarter of 2009. The IMF said that
On August 14, 2009, Paul Mathieu, the head of an IMF economic performance evaluation team, spoke at a press conference attended by Finance Minister Danny Faure, principal secretary in the ministry Ahmed Afif and Central Bank governor Pierre Laporte.
He said that the revised forecast is based on a better performance by the tourism industry, and now visitor arrivals were expected to drop by only 15% (not by 25% predicted earlier). Also, he noted that fishing is doing better because it was threatened by piracy earlier but the problem is being addressed now.
According to Mathieu, Seychelles is making a strong progress in its economic reform programme. He announced that the International Monetary Fund will now disburse USD 1.4 million as part of the USD 24 million arrangement approved when the reforms were launched in Seychelles in November. It should be noted that USD 12.3 million has already been received.
He said, “The economy is gaining strength and the decline in the real GDP that we forecast earlier at 11% will now be somewhat less than it appeared in May”. “We do not have a final figure yet, but the decline will probably be between 8% and 9%”.
The 3rd IMF review mission, based on end-September performance, is expected in October 2009. The mission will coincide with talks on a medium-term structural reform programme to be supported by a 3-year arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility.
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08.13.09
Posted in International Organisations, International relations, Seychelles offshore jurisdiction at 12:55 pm by Robert Klien
According to assistant registrar general Brassel Adeline, Seychelles is making its deciding on the best possible agreement under which it might join the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The jurisdiction’s intention to join the WTO has been discussed here last year.
During the 3-day workshop on intellectual property rights that is currently being held at the Coco D’Or Hotel, Beau Vallon, assistant registrar general said, “We must see how we would negotiate to get the best possible deal so that as a small nation we benefit to the maximum through the WTO”. According to him, after the workshop, it will be better known what advantages Seychelles will have under a treaty it might sign.
Attorney-General Ronny Govinden said that there will be fresh negotiations on an economic partnership agreement with the EU when the talks about joining the WTO will be reopened. He informed the delegates that the jurisdiction is seeking help from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) in order to draft new intellectual property rights laws that would cover geographical indications, layout designs of integrated circuits and undisclosed information. He said, “Seychelles respects intellectual property rights and regards laws and other measures to protect them as important aspects of long-term economic development”.
It should be noted that customs, police and trade officers, economists and other staff from the ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs attended the workshop.
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07.29.09
Posted in Business and Economy, International Organisations, International relations, Seychelles legislation at 10:27 am by Robert Klien
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently completed the second review of Seychelles’ economic programme under the two-year stand-by arrangement. By the results of the review, IMF decided to approve a disbursement to Seychelles in the amount of approximately US$1.4 million.
The Executive Board of IMF also completed the latest review of quarterly financing assurances and approved the modification of quarterly quantitative performance criteria, and agreed to establish a schedule of semi-annual program reviews.
Deputy managing director and chairman of the Executive Board, Mr. Takatoshi Kato, speaking about Seychelles, noted rapid progress on macroeconomic stabilization of the jurisdiction, and the significant fiscal consolidation backed by the market-based monetary policy. By his words, the country should continue its efforts to expand monetary policy instruments, and modernize “the the legal and institutional framework for the financial sector.”
He pointed out that the authorities of Seychelles “have strengthened tax administration and launched a fundamental tax policy reform, which are key to improving the investment climate, reducing economic distortions, and securing fiscal sustainability.”
Mr. Kato also said that good progress is being made with public external debt restructuring, and the authorities should reinforce their debt management capacity, supported by IMF technical assistance.
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06.16.09
Posted in International Organisations, International relations, Seychelles government at 9:59 pm by Robert Klien
The President of Seychelles James Michel has recently attended the 13th summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) in the Zimbabwean town of Victoria Falls.
The summit was attended by 13 heads of state. The 13 Comesa Summit was entitled “Consolidating Regional President MichelIntegration through Value Addition, Trade and Food Security” started on June 8, 2009.
The summit has attracted more than 1 000 delegates from the Comesa countries as well as from the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union, the Commonwealth, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
According to President Michel, “The recent world crisis brings many challenges, but also opens up certain opportunities for developing countries. Through regional groupings such as Comesa, small islands such as Seychelles can also ensure that regional integration initiatives do not ignore key vulnerabilities and specificities”.
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02.12.09
Posted in Business and Economy, International Organisations, International relations, Seychelles government, Seychelles offshore jurisdiction at 10:24 am by Robert Klien
On January 19, 2009, the agreement to develop renewable energy including wind and solar power was signed with the Abu Dhabi future energy company Masdar. President James Michel said that this agreement is good for Seychelles.
When President Michel had talks with Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, future cooperation between Seychelles and Abu Dhabi was the main focus.
The President addressed the World Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He said that Masdar has already done the pre-feasibility work and now it will make a progress towards a full feasibility study.
Masdar is looking at methods to tap wind power in order to generate electricity. Previously, there has been research in Seychelles on renewable energy, but the projects are the 1st major initiatives in this field in Seychelles.
According to Michel, his 2 days at the summit gave him the opportunity to publicise the offshore jurisdiction and to establish contacts with leaders in the renewable energy sector as well as to encourage investment into Seychelles.
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01.19.09
Posted in International Organisations, Seychelles government at 7:58 am by Robert Klien
Next year, a national population census will be carried out with a view to update information from the 2002 census. This was announced by the National Bureau of Statistics (NSB) on January 14, 2009.
In the beginning of January, electoral commissioner Hendrick Gappy being sworn.
Electoral commissioner Hendrick Gappy was the first to mention the need for a census. He said this when he took his oath of office at State House on the reappointment. According to him, one of his goals is to redraw the electoral boundaries, however, fresh population data is needed for do that.
According to the NSB’s principal statistician for census and surveys Helena De Letourdis, the data from the 2002 census is out of date and many things have changed. She said that the NSB is taking part in the 2010 World Programme on Population Census.
All United Nations agencies are interested in correct census data in order to compare the data, assist and develop monitoring and for other uses.
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