Western Hemisphere > Suriname

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International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
The authorities’ commitment to a range of policy reforms continues to strengthen macroeconomic stability. The economy is growing, inflation is receding, donor support is increasing, the public debt is declining, and international bond spreads are at historic lows. The Final Investment Decision (FID) to develop a large offshore oil field was announced on October 1. Moody’s has upgraded Suriname’s sovereign debt rating and changed the outlook to positive.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This paper presents Suriname’s Seventh Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility, Requests for Modification of Performance Criteria, Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review. Suriname is implementing an ambitious economic reform agenda to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, while laying the foundations for strong and more inclusive growth. The program includes policies to restore fiscal and debt sustainability, protect the poor and vulnerable, upgrade the monetary and exchange rate policy framework, address banking sector vulnerabilities, and advance the anti-corruption and governance reform agenda. A tight monetary policy is supporting disinflation. Implementing the recently finalized plan for central bank recapitalization will strengthen the central bank’s operational and financial autonomy. The authorities’ demonstrated commitment to a flexible, market-determined exchange rate is supporting international reserve accumulation. The authorities should persevere with their ambitious structural reform agenda to strengthen institutions, address governance weaknesses, build climate resilience, and improve data quality.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This paper presents Suriname’s Sixth Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility. The authorities’ strong policy and efforts to stabilize the economy are yielding positive results: the economy is growing, inflation is on a steady downward trend, and investor confidence is returning. Suriname is implementing an ambitious economic reform agenda aimed at restoring fiscal and debt sustainability through fiscal consolidation and debt restructuring, protecting the vulnerable by expanding social protection, upgrading the monetary and exchange rate policy framework, addressing banking sector vulnerabilities, and advancing the anti-corruption and governance agenda. Monetary policy is supporting disinflation. The authorities’ demonstrated commitment to flexible, market-determined exchange rate is supporting international reserves accumulation. Finalization of the central bank recapitalization plan will help further strengthen its operational independence and financial autonomy. Building on the progress made thus far under the program, continued efforts are needed to entrench fiscal discipline, while protecting the poor and vulnerable, and further strengthen institutions and address governance weaknesses.
International Monetary Fund. Legal Dept.
The mission was undertaken in the context of a capacity development (CD) project that assisted the authorities to enact a new AML/CFT law in November 2022 and amend AML/CFT secondary legislation and related components of sectoral legislation. During the mission, staff discussed the authorities’ continued initiatives to strengthen the legal framework and the existing supervisory arrangements in place at the CBvS. Staff’s main work during the mission focused on reviewing further amendments made to the AML/CFT law (Wet ter Voorkoming en bestrijding van Money Laundering en Terrorisme Financiering (WMTF), and a directive developed by the CBvS (“Richtlijn AML/CFT”). Staff also proposed amendments to a newly developed AML/CFT supervision manual (“Handboek AML/CFT Toezicht”) and the set-up of an institutional money laundering/terrorism financing (ML/TF) risk matrix as key components of the CBvS’ AML/CFT supervisory framework.
International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
At the request of the Directorate of Taxes and Customs, a technical assistance mission evaluated how the authorities launched the Value Added Tax (VAT), administered the tax in the first 12-months of operation, and provided advice on improving the efficiency of the administration of VAT. Suriname implemented a VAT on January 1, 2023, replacing the Sales Tax. VAT revenue collected for the first 12 months was approximately 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and was 95.4 percent of the collection target. The weaker than expected VAT performance can be attributed to how the VAT implementation was managed. The authorities were not sufficiently prepared to effectively implement and administer the VAT. Several risks have been identified, and if not urgently addressed, there may be weaker VAT revenue collection, continued weak filing and payment compliance, which pose a challenge to the authorities’ fiscal program.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This paper highlights Suriname’s Fifth Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), Requests for Modification of Performance Criteria, Waivers of Nonobservance of a Performance Criterion, and Financing Assurances Review. The authorities’ commitment to fiscal discipline and macroeconomic stabilization under the EFF-supported program is paying off. The economy is growing, inflation is on a steady downward trend, and investor confidence is improving. Near-term downside risks highlight the importance of maintaining the reform momentum to secure hard-won gains. Noteworthy progress has been made with debt restructuring. Bilateral agreements with all official creditors have been completed and the debt exchange with private external bondholders has been finalized. Domestic debts to the central bank and commercial banks have been restructured. The priority is to promptly clear domestic debt arrears. The authorities should persevere with their ambitious structural reform agenda to strengthen institutions, governance, and data quality, including with continued capacity development support from the IMF and other development partners.
International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department
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International Monetary Fund. Legal Dept.
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International Monetary Fund. Finance Dept.
A number of sovereign debt restructurings over the past three years faced significant delays but the cases are now moving forward. These delays slowed access of countries to much needed Fund financial support, and alongside creditors’ efforts the Fund had to find ways forward. With significant experience now gleaned from recent restructuring cases, it is important to extract the lessons for Fund policies from this episode. Delays in future Fund engagements need to be minimized where this can be done in a manner consistent with restoring the member to medium-term external viability and ensuring adequate safeguards for the Fund. Such delays can contribute to a deepening of debt distress, making adjustment more difficult, exacerbating the debt problem, and creating inefficiency costs for both the debtor and its creditors.
International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept.
The mission worked with officials of the Central Bank of Suriname (CBS) to review the compilation framework of monetary statistics for the central bank (CB) and other depository corporations (ODCs) in accordance with the methodology set out in the IMF’s 2016 Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide and developed a roadmap to incorporate the accounts of insurance corporations and pensions funds in the compilation of monetary and financial statistics (MFS). Alongside these improvements, the CBS will be able to produce an updated and improved MFS.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This paper presents Suriname’s Fourth Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility, Requests for Extension of the Arrangement, Augmentation of Access, Modification of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review. Fiscal discipline and tight monetary policy are bringing about the long-awaited stability. The economy is growing, inflation is coming down, and investor confidence is returning. The authorities have completed the private debt exchange and are close to concluding agreements with all remaining creditors. The authorities’ near-term priority is to maintain fiscal prudence while protecting the most vulnerable, preserve the structural reform momentum, and avoid policy backtracking. Excellent progress has been made with debt restructuring. The debt exchange with private bondholders has been finalized with high participation rate. An agreement in principle at the technical level has been reached with Exim China and is under internal approval process for signature. Structural reforms to strengthen institutions, governance, and data quality remain key priorities with continued capacity building support by the IMF and other development partners.