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IMF Comments On Staff Mission To Vanuatu,
by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington
Monday, February 25, 2008
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday commented on a recent staff mission to Vanuatu.
In a statement, the Fund announced that:
"An IMF mission conducted an interim staff visit to Vanuatu during February
11-15, 2008. This is an annual staff visit requested by the authorities for
countries on 24-month Article IV consultation cycles."
"The mission had useful
discussions with the authorities on the economic outlook and policy priorities.
We would like to express our appreciation to the authorities for their open
and constructive engagement and we look forward to continued fruitful cooperation
in the future."
It continued: "Assuming continued political and macroeconomic stability, Vanuatu's near-term
economic prospects remain promising. Driven by robust tourism and construction
activity, real GDP is estimated to have grown by 61⁄2 percent in 2007,
and is expected to remain in the 5-6% in the next 2-3 years. Inflation increased
to 4% in 2007, reflecting higher civil service wages and fuel prices, but is
expected to moderate this year. The fiscal position turned to a deficit of about
1 percent of GDP in 2007, owing to spending through supplementary budgets."
"For
2008, the government is targeting a broadly balanced budget. Official international
reserves increased to about 8 months of imports and are expected to remain strong,
with non-debt capital inflows continuing to finance the current account deficit."
However, the statement added that: "There are some downside risks to the outlook. A slowdown in global growth
could have an adverse impact on foreign direct investment and tourism, and dampen
growth. A loosening of fiscal policy and rising oil prices could put pressure
on prices."
"Ensuring continued macroeconomic stability will require close monetary
and fiscal policy coordination. With Vanuatu's basket pegged exchange rate regime,
the role for monetary policy in offsetting demand pressures is limited and the
burden of adjustment falls largely on fiscal policy."
"In this context, it will
be important that the government avoid additional fiscal spending pressures,
beyond the spending that is already budgeted. In addition, restructuring the
budget, including through civil service reforms aimed at reducing the wage bill
and restructuring loss-making public enterprises, would enhance budget efficiency
while limiting demand pressures, and would also create room for development
spending over the medium term."
The IMF went on to suggest that: "On the structural front, progress is being made in some areas. Financial
sector supervision has been upgraded, and steps are being taken to improve utility
pricing and increase competition in the telecommunication sector. However, more
needs to be done to create a more conducive investment climate, including by
improving the land registration and titling process, ensuring that public enterprises
operate efficiently, and eliminating infrastructure bottlenecks by encouraging
private sector involvement."
"Finally, adequate safeguards should be put in place for the Vanuatu Agriculture
Development Bank to minimize risks to the financial system. Most importantly,
the Bank should be placed under central bank supervision from its inception."
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