RBZ allots US$18,7million to businesses
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has allotted US$18,7 million to businesses at the
Foreign Currency Auction System this week while the local currency continues to lose
grip against the United States dollar.
The official exchange rate at the forex auction system moved to US$1: ZWL$915 on
Tuesday from US$1: ZWL$912 last week.
In its latest update, the RBZ said a total of US$16,7 million was allotted for the main
auction and US$1,9 million for the Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), making a total
of US$18,7 million.
The main auction approved bids worth US$16,8 million while the SMEs platform got
US$1,9 million.
As of last week, total cumulative foreign exchange auction allotments since the inception
of the auction system in June 2020 stand at US$3,84 billion.
As has been the norm since the establishment of the platform, the bulk of the foreign
currency has been allotted towards the procurement of raw materials, machinery, and
equipment.
A total of US$7,3 million went towards the procurement of raw materials while US$3,1
million was channelled towards the procurement of machinery and equipment in the
main auction.
In the SME category, US$572 024 went towards raw materials while US$578 298 was for
machinery and equipment procurement.
The Central Bank introduced the auction platform to improve productive sector
accessibility to the much-needed forex.-The Chronicle
