Country Details

The Suriname Stock Exchange (SSE) is located in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. It was established in January 1994 and it started out as an initiative from a group of private sector companies. At present, the SSE still has no legal basis and it is self-regulating. A shortcoming is the absence of a Securities Exchange Act. The exchange is open for trading two times per month on Thursday using a manual trading system. The outcome of a trading session is presented in an exchange report (bulletin). There is no central clearing and settlement system. The criteria for admission, which are determined by the Board of SSE, are stated in the Exchange regulations (SSE 2007d). These are the size of the securities packages which are available for free trade which should be revealed, the disclosure of audited financial statements and the financial position of the issuer. From 2003 to 2011, there is no considerable change in the number of companies listed on

The SSE and low volumes of shares are traded. Nonetheless, the total market capitalization has grown from approximately 145 million SRD at the end of 2003 to 1.29 billion SRD by 2011.

Global financial crisis

Suriname was not completely immune from the global financial crisis. Following a period of fast growth and favorable commodity prices, the recent crisis impacted Suriname primarily through the trade channel. Suriname, located on the northeastern coast of South America with a population of 530,000, is highly dependent on three commodities: gold, oil, and alumina. Together, they account for about 95  percent of total exports. During 2008–09, GDP growth slowed due to weaker external demand and international price declines. At the same time, the fiscal position deteriorated markedly— tax collections fell and spending surged, mainly on wages. In effect, fiscal policy played a countercyclical role. Loose monetary policies accommodated the resulting deficit. In early 2010, pressures from higher international food and fuel prices pushed up headline inflation to double digits. Moreover, reflecting excess liquidity and the heightened uncertainty associated with the upcoming 2010 elections, the spread between the fixed official exchange rate and the parallel market rate gradually widened to almost 40  percent. This caused a serious disruption in the market for foreign currency, with inflows bypassing the commercial banking system and going to the informal sector, and the government is deprived of the full value of revenues that are collected in U.S. dollars.
The new administration elected in mid-2010 took up the exchange rate imbalance as a high priority, in the context of a comprehensive adjustment program. With inflation on the rise and foreign currency scarce in the commercial market, the policy package aimed at restoring domestic balance and price stability. The authorities also saw the need for tight monetary and fiscal policies in order to avoid an inflationary spiral. The adjustment program, which the IMF endorsed, was quickly implemented, starting with a 20  percent devaluation of the Suriname dollar in January 2011. The authorities raised taxes on domestic fuel, gambling, alcohol, and tobacco while introducing temporary subsidies to protect the most vulnerable. However, they kept another spending under tight control, especially on goods and services and wages, in order to open space for higher investment in human capital and infrastructure.
With stability now in place, the authorities are turning their attention to structural reforms that will allow Suriname to be more resilient and grow in a sustainable way. An important medium-term objective would be to strengthen the structure of the budget by reducing the non-mineral deficit to at least pre-crisis levels. This would provide additional buffers and help protect the fiscal accounts against future price shocks. To this end, revenue diversification measures, such as the implementation of a value-added tax, will help broaden the tax base and stabilize revenues. The authorities also continue to keep a watchful eye on public finances. Spending should be kept in check while providing sufficient space to invest in infrastructure and human capital with the view to better integrate and diversify the economy. Meanwhile, given that the export capacity for commodities, particularly gold, is expected to expand significantly in the medium term, the authorities are working on establishing a sovereign wealth and stabilization fund to help them manage and save the expected increase in revenue for future generations.

Originally inhabited by a number of indigenous tribes, Suriname was explored and contested by European powers before coming under Dutch rule in the late 17th century. In 1948 the country gained autonomy and in 1954 it became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 25 November 1975, the country of Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become an independent state, nonetheless maintaining close economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties to its former colonizer. Suriname is considered to be a culturally Caribbean country, and is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It is an officially Dutch-speaking country, at the same time, Sranan, an English-based creole language, is the most widely used lingua franca, while the majority of the younger populace also speaks English. Suriname is the only territory outside Europe where Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population. The people of Suriname are among the most diverse in the world, spanning a multitude of ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups. The first President of the country was Johan Ferrier, the former governor, with Henck Arron (the then leader of the NPS) as Prime Minister. In the years leading up to independence, nearly one-third of the population of Suriname immigrated to the Netherlands, amidst concern that the new country would fare worse under independence than it had as a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Indeed, Surinamese politics soon degenerated into ethnic polarization and corruption, with the NPS using Dutch aid money for partisan purposes. Its leaders were accused of fraud in the 1977 elections, in which Arron won a further term, and the discontent was such that a large chunk of the population fled to the Netherlands, joining the already significant Surinamese community there.On 25 February 1980, a military coup overthrew Arron's government. On 15 March 1981, and again on 12 March 1982, failed counter-coups were attempted. Hawker escaped from prison during the second counter-coup attempt but was captured and executed. Between 2 am and 5 am on the morning of 7 December 1982, the military, under the leadership of Dési Bouterse, rounded up 13 prominent citizens who had criticized the military dictatorship in Suriname and brought them to Fort Zeelandia. Bouterse, among other defendants, was tried for the murders, but the Suriname parliament extended an amnesty law in 2012 that granted Bouterse amnesty for the alleged violations before the trial was concluded. The Dutch government stated that stopping the trial was "totally unacceptable". Elections were held in 1987, and a new constitution was adopted that, among other things, allowed Bouterse to remain in charge of the army. Dissatisfied with the government, Bouterse summarily dismissed them in 1990, by telephone. This event became popularly known as the "Telephone Coup". His power began to wane after the 1991 elections; an ongoing brutal civil war between the Suriname army and Maroons loyal to rebel leader Ronnie Brunswijk, begun in 1986, further weakened Bouterse's position during the 1990s. In 1999, Bouterse was convicted in absentia in the Netherlands on drug smuggling charges.

Famous People

The dollar (ISO 4217 code SRD) has been the currency of Suriname since 2004. It is divided into 100 cents. The dollar replaced the Surinamese guilder on 1 January 2004, with one dollar equal to 1000 guilders. Initially, only coins were available, with banknotes delayed until mid-February, reportedly due to a problem at the printer, the Bank of Canada. The old coins denominated in cents (i.e. 1?100 guilder) were declared to be worth their face value in the new cents, negating the necessity of producing new coins. Thus, for example, an old 25-cent coin, previously worth 1?4 guilder, was now worth 1?4 dollar (equivalent to 250 guilders). Amendment 121 of ISO 4217 gave the currency the code SRD replacing the Suriname guilder (SRG). The people of Suriname often refer to their currency as SRD to differentiate it from the US dollar, which is also used to quote prices for electronic goods, household furnishings and appliances, and automobiles. In January 2011, the SRD was fixed at 1 USD = 3.25 SRD. The Suriname Dollar was introduced in 2004, and as such is a fairly new form of currency.

Suriname is located on the north coast of South America, between Guyana and French Guiana. Although it is fairly large (approximately 64,000 square miles), Suriname is a minor state in South America. The population of 470,000 live mostly in the northern part of the country, around the capital of Paramaribo. Coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 100 and 250 cents from the previous currency are in circulation. The Surinamese dollar replaced the Surinamese guilder on 1 January 2004, with one dollar equal to 1,000 guilders, prompting the issuance of notes denominated in the new currency. On the notes, the currency is expressed in the singular, as is the Dutch custom. Suriname’s resources are attracting foreign businesses and investment for several reasons, from cheap electricity costs to major reserves of specific minerals. The agricultural sector has shown through the centuries that it can diversify and is currently in a somewhat stable position. It accounts for almost 10% of the GDP and employs approximately 8% of the total workforce of about 166,000. Currently this sector produces plantains, rice kernels, peanuts, coconuts, beef, and shrimps. The country has several large export partners, including Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.