Central Bank reduces maximum amount of dollars that foreign currency account owners can withdraw

Central Bank reduces maximum amount of dollars that foreign currency account owners can withdraw
Central Bank of Myanmar Photo: Mizzima

The Central Bank of Myanmar on May 27 announced that the maximum amount of US dollars that foreign currency bank account owners can withdraw at one time is to be reduced by half.
The Central Bank has informed domestic banks and money exchange counters that the maximum amount of US dollars that foreign currency bank account owners can withdraw has been reduced from US$10,000 to US$5,000.A foreign currency bank account owner can transfer more than US$5,000 to other bank accounts.
An official at the Central Bank said, “The demand for dollars is very high, so in order to retain the value of the kyat, the Central Bank has reduced the maximum amount that foreign currency bank account owners can withdraw.”
However, there is an exception, officials from the UN and International NGOs can withdraw more than US$5,000, according to the announcement of the Central Bank.
Before the announcement was issued, the Central Bank warned money exchange counters and the domestic banks that they need to follow the Central Bank’s daily official reference exchange rate. Nevertheless, the demand for the US dollar in the market cannot be fulfilled, so money exchange counters still sell the US dollars at rates higher than the Central Bank’s according to money traders.
The Central Bank will not be able to solve the problem related to the huge demand on the US dollar that has occurred due to increasing import value, according to business people in Myanmar.