Kyrgyz Republic
2013 Article IV Consultation and Fourth Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility, Request for Waiver of Nonobservance of a Performance Criterion, and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria—Staff Report; Public Information Notice and Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Kyrgyz Republic

The shift to a parliamentary democracy in 2010 provided an impetus for the Kyrgyz Republic to reform the economy. Despite the recent progress, the Kyrgyz Republic faces significant economic challenges, which will require actions on many fronts. Improving the business climate, governance, and institutions remains a key pillar of sustainable and inclusive growth. Restoring fiscal sustainability will be essential, as the budget has become more dependent on external assistance since the 2009 global and 2010 domestic crises. Tight monetary policy continues to be warranted to keep inflation at bay.

Abstract

The shift to a parliamentary democracy in 2010 provided an impetus for the Kyrgyz Republic to reform the economy. Despite the recent progress, the Kyrgyz Republic faces significant economic challenges, which will require actions on many fronts. Improving the business climate, governance, and institutions remains a key pillar of sustainable and inclusive growth. Restoring fiscal sustainability will be essential, as the budget has become more dependent on external assistance since the 2009 global and 2010 domestic crises. Tight monetary policy continues to be warranted to keep inflation at bay.

Recent Developments and Outlook

A. Context

1. The shift to a parliamentary democracy in 2010 provided an impetus for the Kyrgyz Republic to reform the economy. The Kyrgyz economy is the most open one in the region, and depends heavily on gold exports and remittances. The political turmoil and internal ethnic conflict in 2010 disrupted economic activity. To address the effects of the domestic crisis, the new government increased social outlays, wages, and pensions, leading to fiscal tensions. Nonetheless, the public debt-to-GDP ratio declined, helped by recent debt write-offs.1 The authorities introduced tax policy and tax administration measures to strengthen revenue collection and improved public financial management to increase the efficiency of spending. However, the new political system and frequent changes in government have made some aspects of economic reform more difficult and led to delays, particularly in the financial sector (Box 1).

Kyrgyz Republic: How Much Traction did Previous IMF Advice Receive?

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2. Despite the recent progress, the Kyrgyz Republic faces significant economic challenges. The key near-term challenge is to maintain macroeconomic stability and to put the financial sector on a sound footing. The authorities agreed that key medium-term challenges include diversifying the economy away from gold, reducing dependence on remittances and external support, and creating a business environment conducive to private sector-led growth.

3. Meeting the challenges will require actions on many fronts. Fiscal consolidation is critical to ensure sustainability of public finances, keep debt on a declining path, and support the central bank’s efforts to curb inflation. In this context, it is essential to maintain and strengthen central bank independence, which recently has come under pressure. Moving ahead with reforms in the banking sector and improving the business environment will be key to strengthening the role of the private sector. Enhancing the provision of high-quality public services and addressing corruption are essential elements of a successful development agenda. The government will also need to address the remaining ethnic tensions and actively participate in the regional dialogue on the development of the hydro-power sector.

B. Recent Developments

4. The political situation has stabilized but remains fragile. The three-party coalition government formed after the breakup of the previous coalition in August 2012 has managed to maintain a relatively stable political environment. Nevertheless, the political situation remains fragile as some members of parliament continue to voice their disagreement with the government’s reform agenda.

5. The economic situation deteriorated in 2012 (Figure 1). Gold production dropped by 40 percent owing to disruptions at Kumtor, the largest gold mine. Solid growth in other sectors, fueled by remittances inflows, cushioned the drop in overall output to -0.9 percent. The current account deficit increased substantially, mainly due to the decline in gold exports and an increase in imports of inputs for ongoing energy infrastructure projects. Official assistance and remittances, which have the strongest impact on the exchange rate, mitigated depreciation pressures. The capital and financial accounts have been volatile, primarily because of upward revisions to private external debt, sizable debt relief, and short-term flows related to mining activity. Inflation increased to 7.5 percent by end-2012, owing to rising international food prices in the summer.

Figure 1.
Figure 1.

Kyrgyz Republic: Recent Economic Developments, 2010–12

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2013, 175; 10.5089/9781475536386.002.A001

Sources: Kyrgyz authorities and IMF staff estimates.

6. Notwithstanding adverse economic conditions, fiscal policy remained prudent. The 2012 fiscal deficit was 5.4 percent of GDP and below the targeted 6 percent of GDP, although somewhat higher than in 2011 owing to the expenditure carryover. The revenue-smoothing arrangement with Kumtor and buoyant customs revenue in the first nine months of 2012 offset the shortfall in gold-related revenue. However, growth in customs revenue decelerated in late 2012. The government curtailed some nonpriority expenditure to accommodate lower-than-budgeted external financing on account of delays in the implementation of structural measures agreed with donors. Unexpected external grants in late 2012 led to a better-than-projected fiscal outturn.

7. Despite lowering the policy rate, the central bank continued to mop up excess liquidity, although not consistently throughout 2012. The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic (NBKR) reduced the policy rate in several steps to 2.6 percent, in response to negative economic growth and moderate inflation. The shift in monetary policy has not affected the average lending rate in the banking system. Toward end-2012, however, sterilization efforts were not sufficient to offset strong growth in foreign inflows. As a result, reserve money increased by more than expected. Growth in private credit was strong on account of buoyant demand across most sectors and a one-off factor (a micro-finance institution became a bank in November 2012).

8. The banking sector has remained generally stable (Text Table 1). Nonperforming loans continued to fall during 2012, while provisioning increased. Capital adequacy and liquidity of the banking system remained sufficient, while profitability increased. However, dollarization, even though on a declining trend, is still high.

Text Table 1.

Kyrgyz Republic: Selected Financial Soundness Indicators, 2009–12

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Source: NBKR.

AUB is excluded from October 2010.

In March 2011, some NPLs were transferred from Zalkar bank to the old AUB and left the system.

C. Program Implementation

9. The program has been broadly on track, albeit with some slippages. All end-December 2012 QPC and all but one structural benchmarks were met (Tables 13 and 14). The structural benchmark on the sale of Zalkar was met with a delay in early May. The end-December 2012 indicative targets on state government tax collections and reserve money were also missed. The continuous QPC on the ceiling on contracting or guaranteeing of new nonconcessional external debt was missed in early 2013.2 The law on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code were submitted to parliament in December 2012. The revised SSC sales strategy was approved by the government in February 2013. A government resolution on the procedures for submission of budgets of the next 10 largest state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to the government was adopted at end-March 2013 (LOI ¶7). The authorities are requesting a waiver of nonobservance of the continuous QPC based on corrective actions being taken. The authorities are making progress toward meeting the structural benchmarks scheduled for the coming months.

Table 1.

Kyrgyz Republic: Selected Social and Economic Indicators, 2010–18

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Sources: Kyrgyz authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.

General government comprises State Government and Social Fund finances. State government comprises central and local governments.

Calculated at end-period exchange rates.

Twelve-month GDP over end-period broad money.

Interest rate on three-month treasury bills.

Table 2.

Kyrgyz Republic: Balance of Payments, 2010–18

(In millions of U.S. dollars)

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Sources: Kyrgyz authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.

Projected budget support is included in the financing gap.

The capital account in 2012 includes debt write-offs.

Includes return of KRDF investments abroad.

Net short-term flows in 2012 partially reflect capital inflows to domestic enterprises.

Public and publicly-guaranteed debt.

Net of rescheduling.

Valued at end-period exchange rates. The discrepancy between the difference in year-end stocks and the change in reserves under financing is caused by movements in prices and exchange rates.

Table 3.

Kyrgyz Republic: NBKR Accounts, 2010–13

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Sources: Kyrgyz authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.

Contribution is defined as change of asset stock relative to previous end-year reserve money stock (in percent).

Table 4.

Kyrgyz Republic: Monetary Survey, 2010–13

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Sources: Kyrgyz authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.

Contribution is defined as change of asset stock relative to previous end-year broad money stock (in percent).

Twelve-month GDP over end-period broad money.

Table 5.

Kyrgyz Republic: General Government Finances, 2010–15

(In millions of soms, unless indicated otherwise)

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Sources: Kyrgyz authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.

In 2009, the road, emergency and retail taxes have been abolished, the VAT tax rate reduced from 20 to 12 percent, and a new turnover tax introduced. Median turnover tax rate was reduced from 2.5 percent to 2 percent from January 1, 2010.

Table 6.

Kyrgyz Republic: General Government Finances, 2010–15

(In percent of GDP)

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Sources: Kyrgyz authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.

Yearly GDP ratios are as a percent of annual GDP. Quarterly GDP ratios are as a percent of quarterly GDP.

In 2009, the road, emergency and retail taxes have been abolished, the VAT tax rate reduced from 20 to 12 percent, and a new turnover tax introduced. Median turnover tax rate was reduced from 2.5 percent to 2 percent from January 1, 2010.