Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, headed by Marshall Mills, visited Antananarivo, Madagascar, from September 9–23, 2015 and reached staff-level agreement with the Malagasy authorities on a reform program that could be supported by the IMF’s Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), coupled with a 6-month Staff-Monitored Program2. Subject to IMF management approval, the staff-level agreement on the RCF disbursement is expected to be submitted to the IMF Executive Board for its consideration in November 2015. Under the RCF arrangement, Madagascar would be able to access up to SDR 30.55 million (about US$47.4 million).

A new World Bank Group report released on September 22 examines key opportunities and constraints to faster sustainable and inclusive growth in the country. Based on analysis and a series of consultations with key stakeholders, the report highlights that faster economic growth alone will not be enough to improve the living standards of most Haitians and proposes key priorities for rebuilding the social contract between Haiti’s state and its citizens.

The Gambia has experienced large balance of payments and fiscal imbalances, caused by persistent policy slippages in recent years and financial difficulties in public enterprises. This was exacerbated by sizable exogenous shocks from the impact of the regional Ebola outbreak on tourism and the delayed summer rains in 2014. The authorities embarked on an economic program based on a strong 2015 budget and structural reforms, and efforts to secure donor support. The Fund supported the authorities’ efforts through a Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) disbursement in early April 2015 and a Staff-Monitored Program (SMP).

Early Estimates of Quarterly Unit Labour Costs

Seasonally adjusted data, Total economy

On August 28, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the 2015 Article IV consultation with Myanmar.

The United States has intervened in a lawsuit and filed a complaint against H. Ted Cain, Julie Cain, Corporate Management Inc. and Stone County Hospital Inc. for submitting false claims to the Medicare program by knowingly charging excessive and ineligible expenses from 2002 to the present. Stone County Hospital is a critical access hospital located in rural Mississippi. Corporate Management Inc. is a management company that provides management services to Stone County Hospital. Ted Cain owns and controls the hospital and the management company.

A staff mission led by Todd Schneider visited Colombo from September 8–18 to conduct Post-Program Monitoring discussions. This enhanced surveillance is routine for countries that have had “exceptional access” to IMF resources, as is the case for Sri Lanka, which successfully completed a $2.6 billion IMF program in 2012. The mission met with the Prime Minister, Government, and Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) officials, as well as civil society and private sector representatives.

The African Renewable Energy Fund (AREF), a dedicated renewable energy fund focused on sub-Saharan Africa successfully reached its final close on 18 September at its hard cap, with USD200 million of committed capital to support small to medium scale projects, with investment at the final close from European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF), among other investors.