Members in the NeuGroup’s LatAm Treasury Managers’ Peer Group (LATMPG) were recently asked to what extent they use the Venezuelan SITME market to get money out of the country (at 5.30 VEF/USD, higher than the official CADIVI rate which is set at 4.30). Because the SITME market is off-limits to entities that have had CADIVI approvals for dollar purchases in the preceding 90 days, some companies have opened additional legal entities for legitimate but different business purposes to get access to SITME dollars (while the other entity with the CADIVI approval uses the CADIVI channel). Those who answered “yes” generally fall in that category. However, the advantages of using different legal entities for different purposes should be weighed against the administrative burdens of operating multiple entities and complying with tax and labor laws, for example.
Have you used the SITME market in the last three months?
Source: The NeuGroup LATMPG, 2011