Country Reports

July 27, 2015

The Bahamas: Staff Report for the 2015 Article IV Consultation

Description: Context. Economic activity strengthened somewhat in 2014 while the external current account deficit worsened primarily as a result of Baha Mar construction-related imports. The authorities continue to make substantial progress on fiscal consolidation with successful VAT implementation in January 2015 setting the stage for continued improvements in the fiscal position. Lower oil prices helped keep inflation anchored in 2014. Still, notwithstanding the capital flow management (CFM) regime, international reserves remain low. Key policy advice: Despite the U.S. recovery and the imminent opening of the Baha Mar resort, the growth outlook remains well below pre-global crisis levels, and strong and timely measures should be implemented to strengthen competitiveness and raise potential growth. In addition, rebuilding fiscal and external buffers will be essential for sustaining macroeconomic stability: • Reigniting strong and inclusive medium-term growth. Structural reforms are needed to address longstanding competiveness issues including labor market impediments to growth. Energy sector reforms could substantially lower energy costs, boost productivity and facilitate economic diversification in the medium term. A diversification strategy should explore the potential for increasing value added in the tourism sector, including through deepening linkages with agriculture. • Rebuilding fiscal and external buffers. Notwithstanding the CFM regime, the fixed exchange rate peg constrains monetary policy, leaving fiscal policy as the main instrument for macroeconomic stabilization. Steadfast implementation of the VAT and expenditure rationalization in the context of a medium-term budgetary framework, together with public enterprise reforms, would help rebuild fiscal buffers and support international reserves. • Preserving financial sector stability. The pre-crisis credit boom has left the banking system with an overhang of non-performing loans, which will likely continue to generate headwinds for the economy. Despite this, the banking system remains very well capitalized and liquid. Measures should be put in place to resolve the debt overhang while further strengthening the regulatory and supervisory framework.

July 24, 2015

Burkina Faso: Second and Third Reviews Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, and Request for Augmentation of Access and Modification of Performance Criteria

Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A transition government has been put in place to lead the country to elections in October 2015 and wishes to continue the existing ECF arrangement. The authorities feel the program provides continuity for the transition, and helps safeguard macroeconomic stability, while supporting reforms to address long-standing structural problems. Program performance has been satisfactory, with all performance criteria and most quantitative targets and structural benchmarks met. Staff’s assessment is that the transition authorities have the technical capacity and political will to implement the agreed measures. Growth has been revised downwards following multiple shocks. Reductions in commodity prices for the country’s two leading exports, the impact of Ebola in the region on tourism and services, and political uncertainty leading up to resignation of Compaoré’s government in late October 2014 all contributed to a marked slowdown in growth. Real growth is estimated to have been 4 percent in 2014 and is projected at 5 percent for 2015. Lower fiscal revenues forced large spending reduction/import compression. To eliminate large external and fiscal imbalances implied by the shocks and recent depreciation of the CFAF against the US dollar, through the CFAF peg to the euro, the transition government has reduced spending sharply. Even with spending adjustment, revenue measures, and additional budget support commitments from donors, large reserves drawdown will be required meet balance of payment needs. Together with approval of the delayed 2nd review and the 3rd review, the authorities request 40 percent of quota augmentation of access to help meet immediate balance of payments needs. Forward-looking program commitments encompass wide-ranging measures that have both immediate and longer term impacts. Revenue measures aim to reduce fraud and increase revenue intake, along with passage of the long-awaited revised mining code. Spending measures aim to safeguard priority social spending and contain the public wage bill. Extensive reforms are underway to improve budget transparency and cash management, after cash rationing in 2014 gave rise to domestic arrears. Finally, the authorities will implement recommendations of recent audits of state-owned energy companies, including performance contracts to regularize financial obligations and reduce costs, providing scope for better cost recovery, including through more flexible price-setting, in the future.

Notes: Also available in French

July 23, 2015

Japan: Staff Report for the 2015 Article IV Consultation

Description: KEY ISSUES Abenomics has lifted Japan out of the doldrums and needs to be reinforced to accomplish the desired “once in a lifetime” economic regime shift. Building on initial positive results, policies now need to embark on a sustained effort to meet the unprecedented challenges Japan is facing: ending an entrenched deflationary mindset, raising growth, restoring fiscal and debt sustainability, and maintaining financial stability in the face of adverse demographics. Japan should be at the vanguard of structural reform. More vigorous efforts to raise labor supply and deregulate domestic markets, backed by further endeavors to raise wages and investment and designed to boost confidence and raise domestic demand, will be essential to lift growth, facilitate fiscal consolidation, and unburden monetary policy. A credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plan is needed to remove uncertainty about the direction of policies that may be holding back domestic demand. The overarching goal should be to put debt on a downward path, through gradual but steady consolidation that does not derail growth and inflation momentum. It should be based on prudent economic assumptions and on concrete structural revenue and expenditure measures identified upfront. More explicit monetary guidance would enhance inflation dynamics. Actual and expected inflation remain well below the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ’s) inflation target and monetary policy transmission remains weak. The BoJ needs to stand ready to undertake further easing and should provide stronger guidance to markets through enhanced communication. Absent deeper structural reforms, even with further easing, reaching two- percent inflation in a stable manner is likely to take longer than envisaged, suggesting that the BoJ should put greater emphasis on achieving the inflation target in a stable manner rather than within a specific time frame. The financial sector should be a greater catalyst for growth, and guard against risks from unconventional policies. The soundness of the financial system allows more risk taking and consolidation, while remaining resilient to the likely higher volatility of asset prices, exchange rates and interest rates, and lower liquidity in the JGB market as quantitative easing proceeds. While the 2014 external position was assessed to be broadly aligned with fundamentals, subsequent developments and incomplete policies raise the risk of negative spillovers. With the depreciation of the yen relative to its mid-2014 level, further monetary easing without bolder structural reforms and a credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plan could lead to sluggish domestic demand and overreliance on yen depreciation to pursue domestic policy objectives.

July 23, 2015

Czech Republic: Staff Report for the 2015 Article IV Consultation

Description: The economy is growing strongly on account of improving domestic demand and robust exports. Fiscal policy has been supportive of the recovery and the authorities’ medium-term fiscal objective is appropriate, but fiscal framework legislation that would anchor policy is yet to be approved. The central bank’s use of an exchange rate floor as an additional instrument to achieve its inflation objective, in the context of the inflation- targeting framework, has helped stem deflationary pressures, but inflation is still well below target. The financial system is sound and resilient to shocks. The challenge for the authorities is to safeguard macroeconomic stability and create conditions for strong and sustainable growth. Policy recommendations. • Fiscal policy. Maintain a supportive fiscal stance this year, but embark on a modest and very gradual fiscal consolidation thereafter, consistent with the medium-term deficit objective. Embed this objective in a comprehensive framework to enhance its effectiveness in anchoring fiscal policy. Improve budget composition, with higher capital spending to address infrastructure needs offset by efficiency gains in current expenditure and improved revenue administration. • Monetary policy. Continue to focus on inflation targeting in policymaking and communication, and maintain supportive monetary conditions until deflation risks recede and inflation expectations become entrenched around the inflation target. Consider carefully the timing and mechanics of the eventual normalization of monetary policy. • Financial sector. Remain vigilant and be ready to address possible risks to financial stability. • Structural reforms. Remove impediments to higher potential growth, including through policies to increase labor market participation of certain segments of the population, enhance investment in human and physical capital, and improve the business climate.

July 22, 2015

Seychelles: Staff Report for the 2015 Article IV Consultation, Second Review Under the Extended Arrangement, and Request for Waiver and Modification of Performance Criteria

Description: Context: The robust recovery from the 2008 balance of payments and debt crisis has resulted in improved economic and social outcomes. Continued policy discipline and reforms are needed for the microstate to mitigate its geographical and population constraints and maintain momentum in developing a diversified and resilient economy. Focus: With the fiscal stance anchored by the authorities’ debt reduction objective, macroeconomic discussions concentrated on the smooth functioning of monetary and exchange rate policies. On the structural agenda, the dialogue focused on policies to promote sustained and inclusive growth, particularly on the appropriate role for state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Review: The program is on track. The authorities met the end-December quantitative performance criteria except for narrowly exceeding the ceiling on reserve money. The structural agenda remains broadly on track despite some delays. Staff recommends completion of the second review under the Extended Arrangement and modification of the performance criteria for end-June and end-December 2015, and supports the authorities’ request for a waiver for the end-December 2014 performance criterion for reserve money. Outlook and risks: With the external position having stabilized since the last review, fundamentals are strengthening. However, the economy remains highly vulnerable to global developments, including weakness in the key European markets, while domestic risks center on the role of the SOEs. Recommendations: The authorities’ objective of reducing public debt below 50 percent of GDP by 2018 remains an appropriate and attainable anchor for fiscal policy. The monetary policy framework should be further enhanced by increasing its forward orientation in the context of a flexible exchange rate. Structural measures should focus on fostering inclusiveness and private sector-led growth, while improving economic governance and the focus of SOEs. Data: Data provision is broadly adequate for surveillance. Priority areas include improved GDP statistics, strengthening external sector statistics, and extending coverage of the international investment position.

July 22, 2015

Singapore: Staff Report for 2015 Article IV Consultation

Description: Outlook and risks. As Singapore prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in August, its economy continues to perform well. Despite the slow pace of the global recovery and a gradual decline in domestic credit growth and housing prices, projected economic growth of about 2.9 percent in 2015 is consistent with full employment and price stability. Growth is projected to slow down in the medium term, consistent with reduced reliance on foreign workers and rapid population aging. The authorities’ new growth model takes into account Singapore’s physical resource limits and aims to boost labor and land productivity. Risks to the baseline are tilted to the downside: Singapore’s highly open economy is exposed to external shocks, most notably slower global growth and the side effects from volatility in global financial markets. Domestic vulnerabilities, including elevated private indebtedness, can amplify the impact of external shocks. Policies. In January, in response to a decline in expected inflation and a more uncertain outlook for growth, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reduced the pace of appreciation of the nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) band. The more benign near?to medium-term inflation outlook warrants the relative easing of monetary policy. The monetary policy framework is robust and flexible but rising domestic leverage and heightened global interest rate and exchange rate volatility warrant heightened vigilance in assessing the balance of forces between the various channels of monetary policy. Singapore continues to maintain high regulatory and supervisory standards. Recent macroprudential measures have contributed to smoothing the cycle for credit and house prices. The budget’s focus on boosting productivity, equality of opportunity, and inclusiveness is laudable, while the fiscal impulse is opportune given cyclical conditions. Restructuring and population aging. Building on Singapore’s success and faced with high income inequality and the physical limits of a city state, the authorities have re-engineered the country’s growth model to boost productivity while reducing reliance on foreign workers. The restructuring entails lower steady state growth and a shift in the functional distribution of income toward labor. Incentives provided for firms to increase productivity-enhancing investments and for Singaporeans to upgrade their skills should help ensure a successful transition. But slower potential growth and a lower share of profits in income could affect those investments, and gains in productivity could be realized only slowly. Flexibility in the application of foreign worker policies and continued review of incentives are warranted. The authorities are recalibrating fiscal policies with associated inter?and intra- generational impacts in order to proactively deal with Singapore’s rapid population aging, enhance inclusiveness and reduce inequality, while remaining true to the principles of individual responsibility and sound public finances.

July 22, 2015

Singapore: Selected Issues

Description: External trade plays an important role in Singapore’s economy, providing an important share of total value added. Singapore’s exports have a relatively large import share; however, they also have a high level of complexity. As emphasized in previous studies, value-added in exports plays an important role in trade elasticities. The paper finds evidence that this is indeed the case for Singapore’s export products. Products that have higher domestic value-added share also tend to have higher export price elasticity. Economic complexity is also related to export price elasticities: higher economic complexity is associated with lower price elasticity of exports. This relationship is stronger within certain product segments such as the machinery, mechanical appliances and computers as well as the pharmaceuticals segments. Trade elasticities are important to understand Singapore’s exchange rate based monetary policy transmission. Exchange rate changes can affect profits and trade volumes differently, depending upon the price pass-through to import and export prices and the price elasticity of exports and imports. The import and export price pass-through can in return depend on trade elasticities. The paper also shows that there is important product heterogeneity with respect to trade elasticities; both across different product groups but also within individual product groups. This implies that structural changes in the product composition of trade can lead to sizeable changes in Singapore’s trade elasticities.

July 21, 2015

Guinea-Bissau: Selected Issues

Description: This Selected Issues paper aims at identifying some of the main channels of transmission through which political instability feeds and foster fragility and provide an estimate of the “fragility gap” that haunts the Bissau-Guinean society. This paper argued that, until today, due to chronic political instability, Guinea-Bissau has been in a costly fragility trap. This analytical piece argues that the major factor behind Guinea-Bissau’s fragility has been the chronic political instability. It also uncovers some of the main transmission channels from political instability to fragility and provides simple estimates about the cost of instability. Estimates based on reasonable assumptions reveal that, considering only Guinea-Bissau’s post-war period, without chronic political instability real GDP per capita could have been at least two thirds higher than its 2013 level. This assessment shows the crucial importance of the security sector reform. It also shows that the current estimated cost of the security sector reform is modest in comparison, since it puts into perspective its monetary costs—which are easy to calculate and mostly frontloaded—vis-à-vis its wide and deep benefits, which are not as explicit and accrue over time.

Notes: Also available in Portuguese

July 21, 2015

Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe: Request for a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility and Cancellation of the Current Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility

Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Context: São Tomé and Príncipe’s economic development is constrained by its insularity, fragility, limited resources, and low capacity as a small island state. The current ECF arrangement is set to expire on July 19, 2015, with four reviews outstanding. Program performance was satisfactory during the first year and half of implementation but went off track in early 2014 upon the contracting of a loan resulting in nonobservance of the performance criterion on non-concessional debt, and expenditure slippages in the run up to national elections further delayed program resumption. In the meantime, the key assumptions of the macroeconomic framework agreed under the current program changed significantly due to a lower probability of commercial oil production. Extended Credit Facility. The São Toméan authorities have requested a three-year arrangement under the ECF in an amount equivalent to SDR 4,440,000 (60 percent of quota) to rebuild buffers and catalyze financing in support of their medium-term economic reform program. The existing program would be cancelled. Main elements of the program. The program seeks to address the high debt vulnerability while also creating the conditions for sustained growth, anchored by the PRSP II. This involves reforms to: • Strengthen domestic revenue mobilization, expenditure rationalization, public debt management, and public financial management to restore fiscal discipline and reduce the risk of debt distress. • Introduce a comprehensive plan to eliminate the stock of arrears and also prevent the accumulation of new arrears. • Enhance the capacity of key government institutions through well-tailored technical assistance (TA). • Enhance financial sector stability through strengthened supervisory, regulatory, crisis management and bank resolution frameworks.

Notes: Also Available in Portuguese

July 21, 2015

Guinea-Bissau: Staff Report for the 2015 Article IV Consultation and Request for a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility

Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Context: A series of coups d’état since independence have resulted in chronic political instability and deterred economic and social progress. Guinea-Bissau has re-initiated progress since the assumption of office of the current inclusive government in mid-2014. The economy is now recovering after a decline in 2012 and marginal growth in 2013. Inflation remains low, and socio-political stability seems achievable. The coup d’état of April 2012 stalled implementation of the three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF)- supported program approved by the Board in May 2010, and the arrangement lapsed subsequently. The Fund’s support under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) disbursement of 2014 and the authorities’ commitment to reforms have re-ignited donor confidence. Article IV Discussions. Policy discussions focused on measures to overcome fragility; fiscal consolidation and public financial management reforms; restoring financial stability; borrowing policies and long-term debt sustainability; private sector development and structural reforms to enhance inclusive growth prospects. The Proposed Program. The authorities’ development program, anchored on the Strategic Plan for 2014–18, aims to consolidate the fiscal position through better expenditure management and enhanced revenue mobilization, deepen institutional reform, mitigate vulnerabilities, and develop the private sector to support growth and employment. The program focuses on improving the policy framework by addressing governance and security issues, strengthening budgetary transparency as well as public investment and debt management, and improving compilation of statistics. Structural benchmarks focus on these issues while QPCs include a floor on revenues collection and a ceiling on net credit to government (the anchor of the program). Request for an Extended Credit Facility Arrangement. To support their medium-term economic reform program, the authorities request a three-year arrangement under the ECF in an amount equivalent to SDR 17.04 million (120 percent of quota). Risks to the program include the still fragile political situation, which could delay implementation of reforms, adverse terms of trade developments, and weakening donor confidence, and the heightened risk of incursion of the Ebola virus from neighboring countries.

Notes: Also available in Portuguese