Middle East and Central Asia > Mauritania, Islamic Republic of

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International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This paper discusses Islamic Republic of Mauritania’s 2022 Article IV Consultation and Requests for 42-Month Arrangements under the Extended Credit Facility and the Extended Fund Facility. The Mauritanian authorities’ IMF-supported reform program presents a comprehensive policy package to preserve macroeconomic stability, strengthen the fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, and improve governance, to consolidate the foundations for sustainable, inclusive growth, and reduce poverty. Mauritania’s economic growth has accelerated in 2022, driven primarily by the extractive sectors, while Inflation should stabilize at approximately 11 percent reflecting the central bank tight monetary policy. Mauritania has present and prospective balance of payments (BoP) needs while a confluence of shocks including the war in Ukraine and regional tensions have narrowed the space for policy intervention. The BoP needs could widen considering significant risks to the baseline including a protracted war in Ukraine, tensions in the Sahel region, climate shocks, increasing volatility in international commodity markets, and delays in the start of the Grand Tortue/Ahmeyim offshore gas project.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Volatile commodity prices and a tightly managed exchange rate (ER) have led to boom and bust cycles with significant impacts on the public and financial sectors. While the previous Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement (December 2017—March 2021) has helped maintain macroeconomic stability, the pandemic has delayed structural reform implementation and widened the gap to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, surging international commodity prices since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine have deteriorated the external and fiscal balances and led to inflationary pressures and food insecurity. In March 2021, the authorities requested a successor arrangement to support accelerated implementation of their national development strategy, help increase social and infrastructure spending, and improve governance and the business environment.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impose severe social and economic hardships in Mauritania, with a sharp contraction of output expected in 2020. The authorities have responded swiftly to the shock with measures to contain the pandemic and alleviate its fallout. They are prioritizing health spending and targeted support to the most vulnerable households and sectors in the economy. Nevertheless, conditions have weakened since the emergency disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility in April 2020 (SDR 95.68 million, about US$130 million or 74.3 percent of quota) and wider external and fiscal financing gaps are projected.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impose severe social and economic hardships in Mauritania, with a sharp contraction of output expected in 2020. The authorities have responded swiftly to the shock with measures to contain the pandemic and alleviate its fallout. They are prioritizing health spending and targeted support to the most vulnerable households and sectors in the economy. Nevertheless, conditions have weakened since the emergency disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility in April 2020 (SDR 95.68 million, about US$130 million or 74.3 percent of quota) and wider external and fiscal financing gaps are projected.
Wouter Bossu
and
Arthur D. P. Rossi
This paper discusses key legal issues in the design of Board Oversight in central banks. Central banks are complex and sophisticated organizations that are challenging to manage. While most economic literature focuses on decision-making in the context of monetary policy formulation, this paper focuses on the Board oversight of central banks—a central feature of sound governance. This form of oversight is the decision-making responsibility through which an internal body of the central bank—the Oversight Board—ensures that the central bank is well-managed. First, the paper will contextualize the role of Board oversight into the broader legal structure for central bank governance by considering this form of oversight as one of the core decision-making responsibilities of central banks. Secondly, the paper will focus on a number of important legal design issues for Board Oversight, by contrasting the current practices of the IMF membership’s 174 central banks with staff’s advisory practice developed over the past 50 years.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Program implementation continued to be satisfactory despite a somewhat less favorable external environment in 2018. Macroeconomic stability was maintained, external debt to GDP declined, official reserves rose, and some fiscal space was created by strong revenue performance and exceptional extractive proceeds, albeit also by under-execution of public investment. Structural reform implementation progressed as planned. The economic outlook has improved, buoyed by more favorable terms of trade and the upcoming development of a large offshore gas field. Growth is projected to accelerate to 6¾ percent this year, supported by a recovery in extractive sectors and continued broad-based non-extractive growth reflecting strong domestic demand and budding diversification. Downside risks related to global economic developments, commodity price volatility, and regional security concerns remain elevated.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This paper discusses Islamic Republic of Mauritania’s Third Review of Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility. The program aims at entrenching macroeconomic stability, supporting inclusive and job creating growth, and building international reserve buffers. The authorities plan to use the prospective fiscal space prudently for priority social spending—education, health, and social protection—and public infrastructure. The economic outlook has improved, buoyed by more favorable terms of trade and the upcoming development of a large offshore gas field. Growth is projected to accelerate to 6 3/4 percent this year, supported by a recovery in extractive sectors and continued broad-based non-extractive growth reflecting strong domestic demand and budding diversification. Downside risks related to global economic developments, commodity price volatility, and regional security concerns remain elevated. Considerable challenges remain to entrench macroeconomic stability, support inclusive growth, and build resilience to shocks. The prospective fiscal space should be used prudently for priority social policies and public infrastructure.
International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept.
With the support of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department (MCD), and at the request of the Central Bank of Mauritania (BCM), the IMF’s Statistics Department (STA) mission visited Nouakchott from March 19–30, 2018, to provide technical assistance (TA) in the area of external sector statistics (ESS). This mission is part of an initiative financed by the Financial Sector Stability Fund (FSSF): Balance Sheet Approach (BSA) Sub-Module. This intersectoral effort will enable the production of more reliable BSA matrices to support macroprudential policies, the country’s financial stability analysis, and the IMF’s surveillance missions. The mission’s key objectives were to work closely with the BCM in order to (i) improve the compilation of the balance of payments (BOP), and (ii) propose a framework for compiling the international investment position (IIP). Based on the findings and recommendations of the last TA mission on external sector statistics (ESS) carried out at the BCM in October 2016, this mission notes the need to improve the quality of most items in the BOP, particularly the financial account, which could also aid IIP compilation efforts in the near future.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Program implementation has been satisfactory. Macroeconomic stability has been maintained, external debt has been stabilized, and several reforms have been launched to modernize economic institutions and the policy framework. Growth is expected to accelerate this year to 3½ percent, supported by FDI and public investment. While the outlook is positive owing to sustained growth in non-extractive sectors, the international environment is less favorable than during the first review. Higher oil import prices and lower commodity export prices weigh on the external and fiscal positions; the economy remains dependent on commodity exports; and debt vulnerabilities and poverty remain high. Downside risks related to global economic developments and regional security are elevated. On the upside, development of the offshore gas field could generate large revenues from 2022 despite short-term costs.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This paper discusses Mauritania’s First Review Under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement. The outlook is positive, although considerable challenges remain to achieve high and inclusive growth. Vulnerabilities remain elevated and sustained reforms are needed to entrench macroeconomic stability; achieve inclusive growth that creates employment and reduces poverty; and improve the business climate and governance. Policy implementation has been satisfactory and the program is on track. All end-December 2017 performance criteria and eight of the ten structural benchmarks for December 2017–March 2018 were met; the remaining two were implemented with a one-month delay. The IMF staff recommends completion of the first review under the three-year ECF arrangement.