Zambia and Mauritius have done away altogether with foreign exchange controls.

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In an effort to obtain loans to service its debt, Seychelles in November 2008 signed a standby arrangement with the IMF that mandated floating the exchange rate, removing foreign exchange controls, cutting government spending, and tightening monetary policy.

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Foreign-exchange controls were largely dismantled.

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The urge to seek a foreign listing will disappear when all exchange controls are abolished, which the government hopes will be within a few years.

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Wages and living standards are rising, the last foreign debt is about to be repaid, and most exchange controls have been abolished.

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Once South Africa abandons its residual exchange controls, which limit local companies' foreign investments, unbundling will become more attractive because the cash raised can then be spent abroad.

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They can also use it to put controls around activities such as bank account management and foreign-exchange trades.

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If the source of the foreign exchange is inward investors, not exporters, a country can impose capital controls to deter them.

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One reason China is setting up its sovereign wealth fund now is that huge trade surpluses and a vast reserve of foreign exchange mean it simply has too much cash to absorb into its own economy, and capital controls keep it from investing in liquid assets like American T-bills.

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