IMF Executive Board Completes the Sixth Review under the Extended Credit Facility and the Extended Fund Facility Arrangements for Côte d'Ivoire, and Approves One-Year Program Extension | WPN World People News

● The completion of the review enables an immediate disbursement of US$133.4 million.

● The country’s economic outlook remains strong, with growth projected at about 7½ percent in 2019-20. The budget deficit is projected to converge to the WAEMU regional norm of 3 percent of GDP in 2019 and the authorities have committed to the same target for 2020.

● The IMF supported program aims to foster inclusive growth and poverty reduction, support fiscal discipline, enhance domestic revenue mobilization, ensure debt sustainability, and achieve a sustainable balance of payments position.

On December 6, 2019, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the sixth review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangements and approved the request to extend the IMF support to the end of 2020 and increase Côte d'Ivoire access to SDR 843.972 million (about US$1,1163.6 million or 129.8 percent of Cote d’Ivoire’s quota).

The three-year ECF/EFF arrangements with a total access of SDR 650.4 million (about US$896.7 million or 100 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s quota) were approved by the IMF Executive Board on December 12, 2016. Completion of the sixth review enables the immediate disbursement of SDR 96.784 million (about US$133.4 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangements to SDR 650.4 million (about US$896.7 million).

Following the Executive Board discussion, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Acting Chair and Deputy Managing Director, made the following statement:

“Côte d’Ivoire has been pursuing a development-oriented policy agenda, and the IMF-supported program in place since 2016 has supported that focus, paving the way for the private sector to become the main driver of growth. The performance under the program has been strong. The medium-term growth prospects remain robust, predicated on continuing prudent macroeconomic policy, furthering financial sector reforms and sustaining structural reforms to bolster private sector-led inclusive growth.

“The authorities recommitted to the regional budget deficit target of 3 percent of GDP in 2019 and 2020. This objective is crucial to macroeconomic stability and should be supported by a combination of domestic revenue mobilization measures, such as broadening the tax base, curtailing exemptions and swiftly digitalizing the revenue administration, and through current expenditure restraint. This will help Côte d’Ivoire finance its ambitious development projects. To preserve debt sustainability, the budget deficit target needs to be complemented by a balanced mix of external and domestic sources of financing and continued prudent debt management will also be imperative. The one-year extension of the current ECF and EFF arrangements through 2020 will provide an important anchor for prudent policies.

“Accelerating public bank restructuring will also be essential to further strengthen the resilience of the banking sector. Further strengthening the AML/CFT frameworks and their implementation is also important.

“Côte d’Ivoire’s reform efforts have resulted in improvements in its business climate in recent years. It will be imperative to continue the reform agenda to further stimulate private sector activity and support inclusive growth, including by improving the energy sector, human capital and financial inclusion, accelerating digitalization, enhancing trade connectivity and governance, expanding the coverage of social safety nets, and reinforcing the statistical apparatus to help better inform economic policy.”

Source: International Monetary Fund