So in case you did not Lebanon has about 5 or 6 different exchange rates for the Dollar - 1500 Liras, 8000. 1200, the sayrafa thingy, the black market, and not even sure what else. So basically you pay differently and get a different exchange depending where you are and what you are doing. This obviously is adding fuel to the fire of the economic chaos the country is experiencing.
Lebanese Private Sector Network, has made a very succinct ad but that actually makes so much sense as to why the exchange rate should be unified.
To begin with it stabilizes the prices of products (and trust me, if you have not gone shopping for - anything - in Lebanon you wouldn't know what I mean! Our local grocery store does not even bother to change the price of the items on the shelves, what he does is that he changes them after printing the bill so that you pay the difference).
It gives confidence in the currency of the land (does the Lira need it? You bet it does!)
It helps in developing the country and developing the productive sectors (so much for rentier economy and lack of investment and living on fictional interest rates which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme).
In short, the Lebanese Private Sector Network is correct in what it proposes. And why it is proposing it.
Below and sadly in Arabic because too technical is the input of the incomparable Mohammad Ibrahim Fheili on my post on Linkedin - loosely it means that the price should be "liberated" rather than "unified" because the 1500, 8000, and 12000 prices are not even subject to "trade" as they are set. Whereas the sayrafa is subject to a lot of barriers and is set by Banque du Liban and is not subject to supply and demand. And finally the 15000 price which will start on November 1rst is set in the new budget to bolster the state's finances and again is not set to be traded at that price.
المفروض "تحرير" وليس "توحيد" سعر الصرف. يجب تحرير سوق الصرف من كل القيود الموجودة حالياً، والعودة إلى العمل بقانون تنظيم مهنة الصيرفة.
وعكس كل ما يشاع، لا يوجد سوق ولا تبادل على سعر الصرف1. 1500 ليرة للدولار الواحد. إنه سعر صرف حدده أحد تعاميم مصرف لبنان ومخصص للمعاملات الرسمية وبين المصارف ونصرف لبنان.
2. 8000 ليرة للدولار الواحد هو سعر ثابت بموجب التعميم الأساسي 151 ولا يوجد سوق أو تبادل على هذا السعر
3. 12000 ليرة للدولار الواحد هو سعر ثابت بموجب التعميم الأساسي 158 ولا يوجد سوق أو تبادل على هذا السعر.
3. 29000 ليرة للدولار الواحد هو سعر منصة صيرفة اليوم والتبادل في هذه السوق يخضع لكم هائل من الضوابط والسعر يحدد من قبل مصرف لبنان وليس نتيجة عرض وطلب.
4. 15000 ليرة للدولار الواحد من المتوقع ان يطبق في اول تشرين الثاني وهو سعر تم تحديده بموجب قانون الموازنة للعام 2022 لتفعيل إيرادات الدولة ولن يكون سوق للتبادل.