Rbi May Ask Companies To Speed Up Forex Remittances

To ensure more dollar remittances from abroad, Reserve Bank of India is reviewing the Export Earners Foreign Currency scheme and asking for speedier repatriation of the proceeds of the American Depository Receipts and external commercial borrowings by Indian corporates. RBI governor Bimal Jalan after a meeting with finance minister Yashwant Sinha on Friday said, "RBI is examining the pros and cons (of the EEFC) in the light of the Foreign Exchange Manage- ment Act that has been cleared by Parliament." The governor's statement comes in the context of the pressure on the rupee from the dollar with reports about the exporters holding back their export earnings in the hope of further fall in the value of rupee. The current reserves in the EEFC are estimated to be about $2 billion, which can be a sizable relief for the battered rupee which is continuing its south ward journey through out his year. Jalan also said the bank is considering asking for repatriation of the proceeds of the American Depository Receipts and External Commercial Borrowings from abroad if they have been parked there for a long time. But quizzed about the names of defaulters Jalan said, "I cannot give any specific names". The governor made the statement in response to a comment about the fate of the Export Earners Foreign Currency which was launched for the exporters in the nineties to park between 50 and 70 per cent of their foreign exchange earnings under the earlier Foreign Exchange Regula- tion Act. The RBI governor's meeting last evening with the finance minister precedes the prime minister's scheduled meeting with the economic ministers. The measures if implemented will give the same support to the rupee as the Resurgent India Bonds did for it earlier.