The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) has granted final practice permits to 91 companies and foreign exchange bureaux, as the Libyan dinar fell to 8.17 against the US dollar on the black market, amid ongoing cash shortages.
The decision was announced on Tuesday, December 9. The CBL said the latest licensing forms part of its strategy to strengthen the role of exchange companies and bureaux. This follows previous approvals for 187 companies and bureaux, bringing the total number of fully licensed operators across Libya to 278.
However, the central bank has not specified when the newly licensed FX Bureaux will be allowed to commence trading. CBL Governor Naji Issa had previously pledged in August that the dinar would stabilize to below LD 7 per dollar and that cash shortages would end by October 1, targets that have yet to be realized.
The introduction of the FX Bureaux is part of broader reform measures aimed at improving Libya’s economic, monetary, fiscal, and financial systems, curbing money laundering, reducing the grey economy and tax evasion, lowering demand for the US dollar in the black market, and strengthening the national currency.
