Country Reports
2022
December 14, 2022
Namibia: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Namibia
Description: Namibia has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic but has started to gradually recover. After a sharp contraction in 2020, with worsening fiscal imbalances and socio-economic disparities, a modest recovery began in 2021 and strengthened in the first half of 2022. Mining activity rebounded while manufacturing and tertiary sector activities gradually started to recover. Inflationary pressures have increased, as higher international oil and food prices due to Russia’s war in Ukraine were passed-through. The political context remains stable, with elections scheduled in 2024.
December 14, 2022
Republic of Kazakhstan: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: Inflation has surged to 18 percent while growth is projected to slow to 2.7 percent this year. High oil prices have strengthened fiscal and external buffers, while the revised budget increased public spending by 2½ percentage points of GDP to support activity. Subsidiaries of sanctioned Russian banks have exited the domestic market and regulatory compliance is being enhanced to avoid secondary sanctions. Risks to the outlook remain tilted to the downside, as adverse global conditions could lower oil prices and raise borrowing costs, while oil exports through Russian territory remain a major source of vulnerability. Accelerated economic diversification and private sector development are needed to attain sustainable and inclusive growth.
December 14, 2022
Republic of Armenia: Request for a Stand-By Arrangement-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Alternate Executive Director
Description: The economy has maintained a strong momentum, driven by robust consumption and a surge in inflows of income, capital, business, and labor. Inflation has increased markedly due to the sharp rise in food and energy prices and the booming economy, but proactive monetary policy tightening and GDP growth deceleration are projected to bring inflation down in 2023. While robust growth should continue over the medium-term, uncertainty is elevated and downside risks are significant due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, global financial tightening, slowdown in major trading partners, and high food and energy prices. Structural challenges also remain, including high unemployment, weak business environment, and low productivity growth.
December 9, 2022
Albania: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Albania
Description: Past efforts to build policy buffers and a broadly appropriate macroeconomic policy mix during 2020–21 have helped Albania withstand the impact of consecutive shocks since 2019. Growth is expected to remain solid in 2022 before decelerating in 2023, and inflation is projected to return to the central bank’s target only in 2024. There is considerable uncertainty. Risks to growth are tilted to the downside and risks to inflation are to the upside.
December 8, 2022
Mexico: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note on Climate Risk Analysis
Description: Mexico is exposed to both transition and physical risks from climate change. Mexico’s total energy supply is dominated by fossil fuels and non-renewable energy sources. The country is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Latin America. Emissions are highly concentrated in a few economic sectors that play an important role in the Mexican economy. The Mexican financial sector has sizable exposures to these emission intensive sectors. As such, the transition to a low carbon economy raises challenges for the economy and financial sector that need to be considered. Meanwhile, Mexico is exposed to a range of physical risks, including acute risks associated with floods and tropical cyclones, by virtue of the exposure to both the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific hurricane basins, droughts, and heatwaves, and chronic risks.
December 8, 2022
Mexico: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note on Systemic Risk Analysis and Stress Testing
Description: Mexico has a resilient financial system but a low level of financial inclusion. The financial system is smaller than in peer countries and is dominated by commercial banks that have had large capital and liquidity buffers for years. Despite these buffers and the high profitability in the banking sector, credit growth has been low due to both supply and demand factors, with banks targeting mainly the prime segments of the economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a limited impact on the financial system, reflecting a mix of resumption in mobility and support from global and domestic policies.
December 8, 2022
Canada: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: Canada has come through the pandemic relatively well and, as a commodity exporter, has been hit less hard than many other countries have been by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Nonetheless, inflation is well above target, housing affordability is a major concern following a long boom that may now have peaked, and the pandemic remains a source of risk.
December 6, 2022
Eswatini: Technical Assistance Report on Government Finance Statistics Mission (July 6-12, 2022)
Description: This technical assistance (TA) mission on Government Finance Statistics (GFS) was conducted during July 6-12, 2022. The main purpose of the mission was to review the progress made by the authorities in implementing previous TA recommendations and provide further support to strengthen the compilation and dissemination of GFS in line with international standards set out in the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014).