Country Reports
2021
March 26, 2021
Sudan: Enhanced Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries Initiative-Preliminary Document
Description: Sudan, with the support of the international community, is seeking to implement an ambitious reform program to address major macroeconomic imbalances and support sustainable, inclusive growth. A new transitional government was established in the wake of the 2019 revolution with the mandate to carry out sweeping reforms to reverse decades of economic and social decline. The government is pursuing a transformational reform agenda focused on: (i) achieving internal peace based on inclusion, regional equity, and justice; (ii) stabilizing the economy and correcting the large macroeconomic imbalances; and (iii) providing a foundation for future rapid growth, development, and poverty reduction. The government has achieved important milestones, most prominently a peace agreement with almost all internal armed opposition groups in October 2020 to end 17 years of conflict. It has also agreed to ambitious reforms and policy adjustments in the context of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff Monitored Program (SMP) that meets the Upper Credit Tranche (UCT) conditionality standard and an International Development Association (IDA) Development Policy Financing (DPF) operation. Furthermore, on December 14, 2020, Sudan was officially removed from the United States State Sponsors of Terrorism List (SSTL), ending almost three decades of international isolation. While positive changes are underway, political contestation over power sharing arrangements remains acute. It is critical for Sudan to take advantage of a still favourable political economy to tackle its macroeconomic imbalances and put itself on a sustainable development trajectory.
March 25, 2021
Sweden: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: Sweden entered the pandemic with substantial buffers and suffered a relatively shallow recession in 2020. The decline in output was moderated by substantial income and liquidity support as well as structural features of the economy. Sweden’s initial less stringent containment strategy seems to have altered the timing of the economic fallout, which intensified towards the middle of the year. This fallout has particularly impacted the youth and foreign-born. Economic recovery is projected over the next two years, but uncertainty has increased due to the new strains of the virus and slow vaccination.
March 25, 2021
Republic of Korea: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of Korea
Description: Korea entered the COVID-19 pandemic with sound macroeconomic fundamentals and a resilient financial system. The initial outbreak led to a sharp decline in economic activity and employment and generated substantial economic slack. With the help of an effective COVID-19 containment strategy and comprehensive economic policy response, the overall impact was smaller than in peers, with real GDP growth in 2020 of -1.0 percent. The economy is projected to grow 3.4 percent in 2021, albeit at varying speeds across sectors, and with a high degree of uncertainty centered on the speed of normalization in the COVID situation. Public debt has risen and deficits have widened but remain at manageable levels. Credit continues to grow rapidly, financial markets have normalized quickly, and the financial sector has remained relatively sound to date despite the pandemic. The authorities are pursuing greener and more digital growth, along with a stronger social safety net, through the Korean New Deal.
March 24, 2021
Peru: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Peru
Description: Peru entered the pandemic with a sustained track record of implementing very strong policies amid very strong economic fundamentals and institutional policy frameworks, but was hit hard by the pandemic, which took a heavy toll in terms of human lives and economic output. Tensions between executive and legislative powers continue to affect institutional cohesion, but new general elections will be held in April-June 2021. The IMF Executive Board approved a two-year FCL arrangement in the amount of US$11 billion (600 percent of quota) on May 28, 2020.
March 23, 2021
Sierra Leone: Request for Disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility
Description: Sierra Leone continues to grapple with the serious and persistent economic and social effects of the pandemic. Containment measures and trade disruptions in 2020 weakened domestic demand and exports and caused domestic revenues to fall. Moreover, food insecurity has risen from its already-high pre-COVID-19 level. 2021 is set to be another challenging year, with the ‘second wave’ of infections and vaccine-related uncertainties posing further risks to the recovery. As import growth picks up and development partner support returns to pre-2020 levels, Sierra Leone faces urgent external and fiscal financing needs (both around about 2 percent of GDP). Uncertainty about the outlook and larger near-term financing gaps have impeded the immediate resumption of the program under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). The authorities are therefore requesting a disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) of 17 percent of quota (SDR 35.26 million). This follows the June 2020 RCF (50 percent of quota or SDR 103.7 million) and would bring total access for the past 12-month period to 82 percent of quota (or 5½ percent of GDP), well within the 150 percent of quota annual PRGT access limit. The authorities also received debt relief under the Catastrophe Containment and Response Trust (CCRT) and are participating in the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).
March 23, 2021
Colombia: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Colombia
Description: COVID-19 has taken a severe social and economic toll, including almost 60,000 deaths. With over 5 million jobs temporarily affected, Colombia recorded its largest recession on record. Since 2020H2, an uneven recovery with intermittent growth has been underway, led by private domestic demand. Staff expects only a gradual recovery in 2021 with economic activity not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until the second half of 2022. Vaccinations began in February with plans to effectively cover the adult population. However, both external and domestic risks remain skewed to the downside.
March 22, 2021
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: Technical Assistance Report-Strengthening Oversight over State-Owned Corporations, PPPs and Fiscal Risks
Description: This remote mission provided the authorities with advice in fiscal risk management. The mission covered three interrelated topics: (i) the Public Finance and Expenditure Management (PFEM) Law and fiscal risks oversight and management; (ii) the Stated-Owned Corporations (SOC); and (iii) the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). This report focuses especially on reforms that could be implemented during the life of the next IMF program.