Front Matter Page

©1998 International Monetary Fund

September 1998

IMF Staff Country Report No. 98/91

Eritrea: Selected Issues

This Selected Issues report on Eritrea was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with this member country. As such, the views expressed in this document are those of the staff team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of Eritrea or the Executive Board of the IMF.

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Front Matter Page

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

ERITREA

Selected Issues

Prepared by a staff team consisting of R. Kibuka (Head), M. Martin, S. Darbar, Z. Brixiova, and S. Ligaraba (all AFR)

Approved by the African Department

June 26, 1998

Contents

• I. Introduction

  • A. Background

  • B. Recent Developments

• II. Monetary Policy and Financial Sector Issues

  • A. Introduction

  • B. Structure of the Financial Sector

  • C. Monetary Developments, 1995–97

  • D. Monetary Management

  • E. Development of Prudential Oversight

  • F. Conclusion

• III. Privatization in Eritrea

  • A. Introduction

  • B. Background

  • C. The Early Stages, 1993–94

  • D. Developments since 1995

    • Legal and institutional framework

    • Privatization procedures

    • The privatization record

  • E. Conclusions

• Text Figures

• 1. Commercial Banks’ Deposits, 1992–97

• 2, Selected Indicators of Financial Deepening, 1992–97

• Text Boxes

• 1. Savings and Credit Program

• 2. Privatization of Individual Enterprises

• Appendixes

• I. Summary of the Tax System as of May 1998

• II. The Exchange and Trade System

• Statistical Appendix Tables

• 1. Gross Domestic Product by Sector, 1993–97

• 2. Agricultural Production, 1993–97

• 3. Regional Structure of the Agricultural Sector, 1995–97

• 4. Food Grain Position, 1992/93–97/98

• 5. Annual Catch and Sales of Fish, 1995–97

• 6. Gross Value of Public Enterprise Production, 1993–97

• 7. Investment Projects by Sector, 1994–97

• 8. Assab Refinery Production and Purchases by Eritrea, 1994–97

• 9. Retail Prices of Petroleum Products, 1995–97

• 10. Electricity Production, Sales, and Tariffs, 1995–97

• 11. Asmara Price Index, 1993–97

• 12. Summary of Developments in the Labor Market, 1994–97

• 13. Summary of Government Operations, 1993–97

• 14. Selected Indicators of Government Operations, 1993–97

• 15. Government Revenues and Grants, 1993–97

• 16. Government Current Expenditure by Economic Classification, 1993–97

• 17. Government Current Expenditure by Functional Classification, 1993–97

• 18. Government Capital Expenditure, 1993–97

• 19. Summary Monetary Survey, 1993–97

• 20. Summary Accounts of the Bank of Eritrea, 1993–97

• 21. Summary Accounts of the Commercial Bank of Eritrea, 1993–97

• 22. Summary Accounts of the Housing and Commerce Bank of Eritrea, 1994–97

• 23. Distribution of Net Foreign Assets, 1993–97

• 24. Commercial Banks’ Excess Reserves, 1993–97

• 25. Sectoral Distribution of Commercial Bank Loans, 1994–97

• 26. Structure of Interest Rates, 1992–97

• 27. Balance of Payments, 1993–97

• 28. Commodity Composition of Exports, 1993–97

• 29. Commodity Composition of Imports, 1993–97

• 30. Direction of Exports, 1993–97

• 31. Origin of Imports, 1993–97

• 32. External Public Debt Commitments and Disbursements, 1993–97

• 33. Foreign Exchange Rates, 1992-April 1998