Country Reports
2018
March 7, 2018
Malaysia: 2018 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Malaysia
Description: This 2018 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Malaysian economy has shown resilience in recent years despite external shocks and has continued to perform well. Progress was made toward achieving high income status and improving inclusion. Median household income has risen further and the already-low national poverty ratio declined. Real GDP growth has surprised on the upside in 2017, and is estimated at 5.8 percent for the year, driven by domestic demand and robust exports. Growth is projected to start to decelerate from its 2017 peak, remaining above potential at 5.3 percent in 2018, and converging to its potential rate of close to 5 percent in the medium term.
March 7, 2018
Malaysia: Selected Issues
Description: This Selected Issues Paper presents an overview of the Malaysian labor market. Malaysia’s economy and its labor market have undergone significant shifts in the last three decades. The labor market is now more urban and has a higher share of female workers and workers with tertiary education. Employment has kept pace with labor supply, keeping the unemployment rate stable for more than a decade. Meanwhile, reliance on noncitizen workers has also increased against the backdrop of slower growth in citizen population. Continuing with its economic transformation, Malaysia aspires to achieve high-income status, with a labor market that is ready for the economy of the future: a market that can support more female workers, more skilled jobs, and a higher labor productivity growth.
March 6, 2018
Georgia: Technical Assistance Report on the Financial Accounts and Financial Soundness Indicators Mission
Description: This Technical Assistance Report discusses the findings and recommendations made by the IMF mission regarding the financial accounts (FA) and financial soundness indicators in Georgia. One main objective of the mission was to assist the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) in the compilation of quarterly flow FA by institutional sector; estimating transactions, revaluations, and other changes in the volume of assets (OCVA). It was observed that FA are being produced by the Monetary and Statistics Division for internal use only, because for public dissemination the NBG wants first to develop automatic procedures for the estimation of revaluations and OCVA in its database. It is expected that by May 2018 business intelligence software will be fully operational for this purpose.
March 5, 2018
Solomon Islands: 2017 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Solomon Islands
Description: This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economy of the Solomon Islands grew by 3.5 percent in 2016 driven by a peak in the forestry sector. Growth remained solid in 2017 and is projected at 3.0 for 2018, buoyed by infrastructure spending, fisheries and agriculture, although logging production is slowing down. Inflation is contained at an annual rate of just 1.6 percent in October 2017. The current account deficit has widened a little but international reserves levels are comfortable. The fiscal deficit is expected to have reached 4.0 percent of GDP in 2017 and to widen further in 2018. The risks to the economy are on the downside with the weakening fiscal position heightening vulnerability to shocks.
March 5, 2018
Kingdom of Lesotho: Selected Issues
Description: This Selected Issues paper provides further background on the macrofinancial sector analysis that informed Lesotho’s 2017 Article IV consultation. Lesotho’s financial sector is small, concentrated, and lacks financial inclusion, although mobile banking services and financial cooperatives offer some encouraging potential. Lesotho’s most important vulnerabilities are exposure to developments in South Africa and dependence on revenues from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Shocks to SACU revenues can become a source of systemic risk by affecting the fiscal position and the balance of payments. The financial system will be affected by both channels, with substantial implications if the shock is permanent. This paper focuses on two potential consequences of a severe SACU revenue shock for the financial system: A decline in reserves that may threaten the sustainability of the hard currency peg with the South African rand, and the impact of a forced fiscal consolidation on household income and the quality of credit to households, affecting both bank and nonbank lenders. It turns out that financial shallowness and lack of inclusion may be a defining feature of the formal banking system; thereby raising questions about potential trade-offs between inclusiveness and financial stability.
February 28, 2018
Namibia: 2017 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Namibia
Description: This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights that Namibia’s economy has reached a turning point with ending of temporary expansionary factors. GDP sharply decelerated in 2016 and contracted in 2017 as construction in the mining sector came to an end and the government began consolidating. With the economy contracting and Southern Africa Customs Union’s receipts temporarily increasing, the current account balance improved significantly. The outlook remains positive with considerable vulnerabilities and risks. Growth is projected to resume in 2018, as mining production ramps up, construction activity stabilizes and manufacturing recovers, before converging to a long-term rate of about 3.5 percent, below the average of recent years.
February 28, 2018
Kingdom of Lesotho: 2017 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Kingdom of Lesotho
Description: This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights that high levels of unemployment, poverty, and inequality persist in Lesotho despite its faster growth compared with regional peers over the last decade. GDP growth is expected to be about 3 percent in FY2017/18, below the average of 4.1 percent for the past decade, and driven by mining and agriculture. Over the next three years, GDP growth is expected to be led by mining and construction related to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II. A steep decline in Southern African Customs Union transfers, a major source of government revenue, will result in a fiscal deficit that is likely to exceed 6 percent of GDP for the second year.
February 26, 2018
Somalia: 2017 Article IV Consultation and First Review Under the Staff-Monitored Program-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Somalia
Description: This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights that despite a severe drought and sporadic terrorist attacks, Somalia avoided a significant economic slowdown in 2017 with support from the national and international community. Economic activity in 2017 is expected to have slowed. The drought that hit the country since late 2016 has receded, but it took a considerable toll, particularly in the remote areas. GDP growth is projected to have remained subdued at 1.8 percent in 2017. Driven by higher food prices, year-over-year inflation increased to 5.2 percent at the end of December 2017. A small budget surplus was achieved by the end of September 2017, even though domestic revenue fell short of the program target.
February 22, 2018
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Technical Assistance Report-Government Finance Statistics
Description: This Technical Assistance Report discusses the findings and recommendations made by the IMF mission about improving government finance statistics (GFS) for decision making in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was found that a number of weaknesses of institutional arrangements needed to compile GFS in Bosnia and Herzegovina have yet to be resolved. Although collaboration between units involved in the compilation of GFS is well established in the Republic of Srpska, collaboration between the Bosnian institutions at the entity level and the state institutions lack fully the (in)formal prerequisites to support comprehensive and adequate fiscal data reporting. Particularly the sharing between institutions of data, metadata, and supporting information required for the accurate, timely, efficient, and auditable compilation of GFS needs strengthening.
February 22, 2018
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Technical Assistance Report-Government Finance Statistics
Description: This Technical Assistance Report discusses the findings and recommendations made by the IMF mission to assist the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Srpska (RS), Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the compilation and dissemination of government finance statistics in accordance with the guidelines of the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014) and the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). It was found that the chart of accounts used by the RS is very comprehensive and facilitates the bridging of the national codes to GFSM 2014 and ESA 2010 codes. Some amendments and extensions may be performed to further improve the bridging to GFSM 2014 and ESA 2010.