In a recent interview with L’Orient-Le Jour, Mr. Nadim Daher, Treasurer of the Lebanese Business Leaders’ Association (RDCL), provided key insights into the Lebanese Ministry of Finance’s decision to disclose the official exchange rates used since 2020. This disclosure, initiated by the outgoing Minister of Finance, Youssef Khalil, reveals the rates applied to record public revenues and expenditures.

Nadim Daher emphasized that this disclosure not only serves an informative purpose but also marks the explicit recognition by the authorities of the 89,500 LL to the dollar rate as the official standard for all financial flows, except for dollars blocked by banking restrictions. He further confirmed that the 2024 budget was drawn up based on an implicit rate of 90,000 LL to the dollar, although this figure was never officially mentioned.

Daher also analyzed the Ministry’s decision to maintain the exchange rate of the local dollar at 15,000 LL. He suggested that this decision might be justified by a desire to avoid creating a situation where depositors with bank dollars would rely on this rate to support their efforts to recover their blocked funds at market value. He pointed out that the state no longer conducts transactions at the 15,000 LL rate, and reminded that the Central Bank (BDL) had instructed banks last February to cease disbursements at this rate.

To read the full interview check the following link: https://lnkd.in/deHEuDxR