Press Release No. 11/448

Press Release: IMF Executive Board Approves a One-Year Standby Credit Facility Arrangement for Solomon Islands

December 7, 2011

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a one-year arrangement under the Standby Credit Facility (SCF) for Solomon Islands, in an amount equivalent to SDR 5.2 million (about US$ 8.08 million). This arrangement is intended to be precautionary, meaning that the authorities do not intend to draw on the Fund’s resources unless a need arises.

The SCF-supported program aims at consolidating recent macroeconomic progress, implementing a new resource taxation regime to promote fiscal transparency and enhance the efficiency of tax collection, reforming mining legislation to broaden the tax base, and implementing public financial management reforms to strengthen fiscal institutions. The SCF-supported program is expected to be instrumental in anchoring the authorities’ policy agenda going forward.