Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Staff Report for the 2014 Article IV Consultation—debt Sustainability Analysis1
Author:
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept
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Publication Date:
26 Feb 2015
eISBN:
9781498341752
Language:
English
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; staff appraisal; debt; growth; authority; Lao authorities; PPG debt; debt dynamics; Lao P.D.R.; debt sustainability; debt distress; Debt sustainability analysis; Public and publicly-guaranteed external debt; Global; current account
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This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that the real GDP growth of Lao People’s Democratic Republic is expected to moderate from 8 percent in 2013 to 7.5 percent in 2014. Domestic activity has slowed, and credit growth has declined from excessive levels. Inflation has declined to 3 percent from 6.5 percent at end-2013, largely owing to weaker food and fuel price momentum. To address vulnerabilities, Executive Directors have emphasized the need for continued fiscal consolidation, greater exchange rate flexibility, tighter monetary conditions, strengthened financial supervision, and improved bank resolution and crisis prevention frameworks.

Abstract

This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that the real GDP growth of Lao People’s Democratic Republic is expected to moderate from 8 percent in 2013 to 7.5 percent in 2014. Domestic activity has slowed, and credit growth has declined from excessive levels. Inflation has declined to 3 percent from 6.5 percent at end-2013, largely owing to weaker food and fuel price momentum. To address vulnerabilities, Executive Directors have emphasized the need for continued fiscal consolidation, greater exchange rate flexibility, tighter monetary conditions, strengthened financial supervision, and improved bank resolution and crisis prevention frameworks.

Background

1. The 2013 Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) classified Lao P.D.R.’s risk of debt distress as moderate. The classification continues to depend on the favorable Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) index.3

Lao P.D.R.: External PPG Debt Indicators

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Sources: Lao P.D.R. authorities; IMF and World Bank estimates.

2. This DSA continues to classify the risk of debt distress as moderate, but Lao P.D.R. is on the verge of a transition to high risk, with heightened vulnerabilities for public debt. The indicative debt distress thresholds remain unchanged from the 2013 Article IV DSA. Under the baseline scenario of the current DSA, some of the external and public debt distress indicators breach the policy-dependent indicative thresholds for some years, the PV of external debt follows a downward trend and returns to levels below the respective thresholds in the medium term. Given the traditional approach classifies the debt distress risk as borderline high/moderate, a probability approach is adopted. The results of the probability approach suggest moderate debt distress risks, since all the indicators remain under their corresponding thresholds, with the exception of debt-to-GDP ratio, which breaches the threshold for a brief period.

3. Lao P.D.R.’s external public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) debt remains elevated and has risen since 2012. The nominal stock of PPG external debt increased from US$4.5 billion in 2012 to about US$5.1 billion at end-2013, mainly the result of higher borrowing from Thailand and China. The rise in debt was in part driven by heavy investment in power generation projects. Thus, the PPG external debt rose from 47.7 percent of GDP in 2012 to 48.3 percent of GDP at end-2013. The corresponding net present value (PV) of PPG external debt was 39.8 percent of GDP, a significant increase from 32.5 percent of GDP at end-2012, primarily because the amortization schedule of existing debt puts the larger part of principal repayments on more recent years compared to the last DSA.

Lao P.D.R.: External PPG Debt Indicators

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Sources: Lao P.D.R. authorities; and IMF and World Bank estimates.

Commercial debt includes Thai bond issuance.

4. Bilateral creditors have taken a larger share than multilateral creditors in 2013, and this trend is expected to continue in the projection period. Bilateral creditors—mainly China, Russia, Thailand, Japan, and Korea—account for 64 percent of total external PPG debt at end-2013. Multilateral creditors consist mainly of the Asian Development Bank (AsDB—20 percent of total external PPG debt), and the International Development Association (IDA—12 percent of total external PPG debt).

5. About three-quarters of total external PPG outstanding debt was contracted in U.S. dollars, renminbi, and SDR. The rest consists of yen, euro, Thai baht and others.

6. The high level of concessionality of official borrowing helps to keep the external debt service ratios at manageable levels. PPG external debt service indicators are expected to remain below the policy-dependent indicative thresholds throughout the projection period in the baseline. However, given almost half of total external PPG debt is contracted in U.S. dollars and declining concessionality of new borrowing under the current DSA assumptions, the debt to GDP and debt service ratios of external PPG debt are most sensitive to large sudden currency depreciation shocks. Given very thin buffers, other adverse shocks, including delayed fiscal consolidation, could push the stock of external PPG debt beyond sustainable levels, with some debt distress indicators breaching their respective thresholds.

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Currency Composition of External PPG Debt

(In percent of total)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2015, 045; 10.5089/9781498341752.002.A002

Sources: Lao P.D.R. authorities; and IMF and World Bank estimates.

7. The rising external debt-to-GDP ratio and near-term threshold breaches underscore the need to strengthen debt management capacity. This includes ensuring that debt sustainability considerations are taken into account when contracting new debt, particularly because the country is expected to shift from concessional to more market-based terms as it graduates from Least Developed Country (LDC) status. Additional near-term external borrowing, for example to finance mega-projects, could push the debt-to-GDP ratio over the indicative thresholds for a protracted period, potentially jeopardizing debt sustainability. A mitigating factor for Lao P.D.R.’s external debt burden lies in the prospective returns on the hydropower and mining projects that have been financed in part by the external PPG debt. The long-term power purchase agreements that are singed for these projects and the resulting government revenues in the form of royalties, dividends, and profit tax payments help reduce the risk of debt distress in the long run.

8. Recorded domestic PPG debt (excluding arrears) declined marginally from 12 percent of GDP in 2012 to about 11 percent of GDP at end-2013.4 Domestic debt consists of commercial bank lending and bond holdings as well as Bank of the Lao P.D.R.’s direct lending to local government’s off-budget infrastructure projects. Given higher costs of domestic borrowing, the share of domestic PPG debt remains relatively small. Going forward, however, as domestic financial markets deepen, the share of domestic public debt is likely to increase. Financing through arrears accumulation allows total domestic and external PPG debt to remain at about 59 percent of GDP at end-2013, similar to the year before.

Assumptions Underlying the Debt Sustainability Analysis

9. The medium-term macroeconomic assumptions underlying the DSA are summarized in Box 1. The baseline scenario--which is based on current policies and consistent with the macroeconomic framework presented in the staff report—projects annual GDP growth to moderate to 7.4 and 7.2 percent in 2014 and 2015, respectively, before reverting toward 7.5 percent in the medium term. Average real GDP growth over the projected period is expected to be lower than in 2013 DSA, in large part due to lower projected mining sector growth. GDP deflator growth (in USD terms) is projected to be about 1 percent, lower than in 2013 DSA, on account of the subdued global commodity and import price outlook and moderately lower real GDP growth. The bilateral exchange rate vis-à-vis USD is expected to depreciate by about 3.5 percent year-on-year starting in 2016 and thereafter, consistent with the authorities’ exchange rate band of +/-5 percent.

Lao P.D.R.: Macroeconomic Assumptions Comparison with 2013

(Average over the 20 years projection period)

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Sources: Lao P.D.R. authorities; IMF and World Bank estimates.

10. Compared to the 2013 DSA, the baseline projects slight improvement in the external position, but deterioration in the fiscal position. The current account deficit is projected to improve over the forecast period and also compared to the 2013 DSA. On the fiscal side, the primary deficit is expected to deteriorate in the medium term, worse than 2013 DSA.

11. As a result, a higher level of financing than last year is assumed. To meet the country’s financing needs, a higher level of new borrowing is projected to finance investment that would support the country’s ambition to graduate from the LDC status by 2020. External financing is assumed to remain largely on concessional terms in the near future. Going forward, however, the new disbursement schedule is assumed to rely less on multilateral creditors, and more on bilateral and commercial creditors. In this vein, the share of commercial borrowing is projected to reach about 10 percent of total new disbursements in the long term. Multilateral assistance will slowly shift from grant- to credit-based conditions, and AsDB and the World Bank Group are expected to remain the principal suppliers of multilateral credit, with IDA loans slowly phasing out and replaced by IBRD loans with less concessional terms. The level of grant financing is projected to decline from 5.6 percent of GDP in 2013 to about 3.5 percent of GDP in the medium term, adding to the higher projected borrowing needs, which are estimated to be higher than the authorities’ disbursement projections. Interest rates on bilateral and commercial loans are expected to increase with libor, in line with the assumptions from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, and stabilize at a higher level in the medium term. As the domestic financial market deepens, the private sector is assumed to rely more on domestic sources of financing, lowering the need for foreign borrowing in the long term.

Baseline Scenario – Underlying Assumptions (2014–34)

The baseline macroeconomic framework assumes neutral fiscal stance in the medium-term, followed by some consolidation, and accommodative monetary conditions. Although long-term growth is still anchored by the vigorous energy production sector, vulnerabilities remain heightened.

Real GDP growth is projected to average 7.5 percent during 2014–19. Growth has slowed in FY2014, partly due to fiscal tightening and lower mining production. In the medium term, some fiscal easing and higher growth in the resource sector, driven by the commencing of operation of some power projects, will return growth to about 7½ percent. This outlook also relies on continued accommodative monetary policy, vigorous resource-related FDI inflows, rising electricity demand from neighboring countries, and a gradual pickup of investment inflows into nonresource sectors following Lao P.D.R.’s recent WTO accession. Over the longer term, successful structural reforms would create a better environment for private investment, broadening the sources of growth. Real GDP is expected to moderate to 6.3 percent on average during 2020–34, as production in the resource sector reaches maturity. Graduation from Least Developed Country status is projected around early-2020s.

Inflation (measured by GDP deflator in USD terms) is projected to average about 1.5 percent in 2014–34. Price growth is expected to remain subdued, owing to weaker food and fuel price growth outlook and declining domestic pressures.

The balance of payments continues to be driven by developments in the resource sector, which has an important bearing both the current account and the capital and financial account. The current account deficit is estimated to have narrowed slightly to about 28.9 percent of GDP in 2013 and is expected to decline to 25 percent of GDP in 2014, as the nonresource deficit remains elevated and the resource deficit temporarily increases before large-scale power projects come on stream in 2015–16. FDI inflows are assumed to be vigorous, driven by growing investment inflows into both resource and nonresource sectors following Lao P.D.R.’s recent WTO accession. The current account is projected to improve over medium and long term, assuming that nonresource exports and services will gradually pickup driven by solid recovery in advanced economies, strengthened regional integration, supported by improvements in the investment climate, streamlining of business regulations, and the prevalence of trade commitments.

External financing is assumed to remain largely on concessional terms in the near term. In the longer-run, however, the degree of concessional financing decreases with economic development, while new disbursement schedule will shift from multilateral to commercial and bilateral creditors.

Multilateral creditors: Projected loan disbursements in the medium term are relatively low, since IDA and AsDB have a pipeline of operations financed on grant terms, which are forecast to roll over into loans with decreasing levels of concessionality going forward. Over the longer term, project loans are assumed to increase moderately, but the share of multilateral loans in total disbursements are expected to decline over the long run.

  • Under the IDA pipeline, half of new disbursements starting in FY 2014 are expected to be financed through grants and half through loans on concessional terms. Given the expected graduation of Lao P.D.R. from the LDC status, beginning in FY 2021 half of the disbursements are expected to be financed under IDA terms and half under IBRD terms, and starting in FY 2024 all financing by the World Bank Group is expected to shift to IBRD terms with less concessional conditions.

  • AsDB loans are expected to remain on concessional terms. New projects for 2015 to 2035 are assumed at US$85 million per year, which is the average of Lao P.D.R.’s indicative lending allocations as set out in the Work Program and Budget Framework for 2015–17, with the addition of US$27 million per year for additional allocation for subregional project, based on the annual average of 2013–14 subregional allocations.

Bilateral and Commercial Creditors: For 2014–19, project loan disbursements also increase, as donors provide support to the government’s development agenda. Over the medium and longer term, greater participation by new emerging market creditors results in an increased role for bilateral finance, including on-lending to state-owned enterprises. As Lao P.D.R. exits from low income country status, larger share of external borrowing is expected to shift from multilateral to bilateral and commercial creditors, with lower degree of concessionality on market-based terms. The share of commercial creditors is expected to increase over the projection period to about 10 percent of total new borrowing. Given the anticipated increase in global interest rates due to the exit from unconventional monetary policy in the US, interest rates for bilateral and commercial borrowing are expected to start rising in 2015 in line with the World economic Outlook’s libor forecasts. DSA assumptions also incorporate historical and projected bond issuance initiative in the Thai market. So far, a 50-million USD bond has been issued in May 2013, two bonds totaling US$100 million have been issued in December 2013, and a 170 million USD bond has been issued in October 2014.

Fiscal policy is projected to be neutral in the medium-term. The primary deficit is projected to peak at 3.6 percent of GDP in 2016 and remain at about 3.4 percent of GDP on average over the medium term, then decline gradually to around 1.4 percent of GDP on average. Over the long-term the primary deficit is expected to stabilize at around 0.7 percent as improvements in non-mining revenue collection are counteracted by declines in mining and resource related revenue, while capital expenditure is expected to decline and other expenditure categories are expected to remain constant as a percent of GDP.

Domestic debt is expected to increase over the long-term as the country relies more on domestic funding. Going forward, as global interest rates are projected to rise and domestic financial markets deepen a larger share of financing needs is likely to be satisfied by domestic creditors.

Debt Sustainability

A. External Debt Sustainability Analysis

12. Under the baseline scenario, the PV of external debt to GDP ratio is projected to be above the policy dependent indicative threshold and decline in the medium term (Figure 1), indicating that the debt distress risk is more elevated than the 2013 DSA. The change is driven primarily by the higher debt stock at the end of 2013, and higher projected new borrowing, with less concessional terms going forward as Lao P.D.R. graduates from the LDC status. As a result, the current DSA forecasts a breach in the PV of external PPG debt-to-GDP ratio until 2018. Other debt and debt service indicators remain below the policy-dependent indicative threshold during the entire forecast period under the baseline scenario.

Figure 1.
Figure 1.

Lao P.D.R.: Indicators of Public and Publicly Guaranteed External Debt Under Alternative Scenarios, 2014–34 1/

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2015, 045; 10.5089/9781498341752.002.A002

Sources: Country authorities; and staff estimates and projections.1/ The most extreme stress test is the test that yields the highest ratio on or before 2024. In figure b. it corresponds to a One-time depreciation shock; in c. to a Non-debt flows shock; in d. to a One-time depreciation shock; in e. to a Non-debt flows shock and in figure f. to a One-time depreciation shock

13. Under the historical scenario, in which key variables are set at their historical averages, debt dynamics become unsustainable for all debt stock indicators. The historical scenario is based on 10-year averages of higher current account deficit, real GDP growth, and growth of exports of goods and services than assumed under the baseline, requiring higher debt accumulation rates and putting debt dynamics on an unsustainable path.

14. Debt dynamics continue to be markedly worse under the alternative scenarios, with the exchange rate depreciation risk having the largest impact. Abrupt exchange rate depreciation remains the most important risk to sustainability, given a large share of foreign currency debt and a very thin international reserves cushion. A potential trigger is an increase in global interest rates, as advanced economies exit from unconventional monetary policies. As shown in Figure 1, a one-off 30 percent depreciation shock would cause the breach of the indicative threshold of the PV of debt-to-GDP, debt-to-revenue, and debt service-to-revenue ratios over a prolonged period. While the PV of external PPG debt declines over the projection period, liquidity indicators worsen, as indicated by the increasing debt service ratios. This raises concerns about possible foreign-currency liquidity crunch. However, given the expected increase in revenues from hydropower production, which are not fully captured by fiscal revenues, debt service-to-exports ratio, rather than debt service-to-revenue ratio, is a more appropriate indicator. A somewhat worse debt trajectory emerges as a result of an assumed negative shock to FDI inflows—a scenario with net official transfers and net FDI falling in 2014-15 below their historical averages—in which case Lao P.D.R. would be forced to reduce its current account deficit in order to avoid worsening the external debt position.

15. The borderline high/moderate case issue was addressed with the probability approach, which suggests moderate risk of debt distress, but verging on a transition to high risk. Given the small breach under the baseline and multiple breaches of thresholds under the alternative scenarios, the debt distress risk is classified as high/moderate. To address the borderline issue, a so-called probability approach was adopted. The key difference is that the probability approach incorporates a country’s individual CPIA score and average GDP growth rate, whereas the traditional approach uses one of three discrete CPIA values (for weak, medium, and strong performers) and an average growth rate across LICs. Under the baseline scenario, the probability of debt distress is lower than the threshold for all indicators, with the PV of debt-to-GDP ratio breaching its threshold only briefly. The risk of debt distress is sensitive to significant exchange rate depreciation and under a historical scenario, in which case the stress tests result in multiple breaches of thresholds. This is consistent with moderate risk of debt distress.

B. Public Debt Sustainability Analysis

16. The PV of total PPG debt in percent of GDP and in percent of revenue are both projected to remain elevated over the long run under the baseline scenario. Current public sector debt dynamics show a worsening situation than in 2013 DSA. The PV of public sector debt was estimated at 50.5 percent of GDP in 2013 and is expected to remain high and above the threshold until the end of the projection period in the baseline scenario. The breach is primarily driven by faster amortization schedule on existing 2013 debt and higher projected disbursement schedule necessary to support growth in the conditions of fiscal easing and limited public investment management and implementation capacity. Given the underlying assumptions of the eventual shift from concessional to market-based borrowing terms and higher borrowing interest rates over time, Lao P.D.R.’s PPG debt-to-GDP, debt-to-revenue, and debt service-to-revenue ratios are expected to increase over the projection period.

17. The worsened baseline and the alternative scenarios from last year’s DSA highlight the growing risk of debt distress and point to the importance of fiscal consolidation over the medium term. As shown by the fixed primary balance scenario, which assumes unchanged primary balance from 2014 for the entire projection period, the PV of the debt-to-GDP and debt-to-revenue ratios would be higher than the baseline in the second half of the projection period.

18. Owing to significant reliance on external borrowing, the PV of public debt remains sensitive to large, abrupt exchange rate depreciation. A sudden 30-percent depreciation of the kip against the U.S. dollar would immediately raise the PV of public debt-to-GDP in the medium-term, with unfavorable implications for debt sustainability.

Authorities’ Views

19. The authorities broadly agreed with the overall assessment, emphasizing that the government does not foresee difficulties in servicing debt, and expect lower new borrowing than the DSA assumes. Given the expected strong royalty, dividends, and profits, the authorities do not anticipate any difficulty finding creditors and servicing outstanding loans. A relatively long maturity profile of loans, as well as U.S. dollar returns of the exporting sectors, would help mitigate the risks of debt distress. The authorities anticipate an increase in disbursements of new funds from some bilateral donors between 2014 and 2019, and that borrowing would not expand at the rate assumed in the DSA given a number of current regulations restricting new external commercial borrowing to no more than 25 percent of government revenue. Restrictions on borrowing for infrastructure and social development purposes also allow financing only on concessional terms with interest rates below 3 percent and long-term maturity. Nevertheless, the authorities indicated that these guidelines could be modified should financing needs and financial conditions change. Borrowing is expected to shift from external to domestic sources over time, as domestic financing becomes cheaper. Better access to nonconcessional loans is also expected in the future.

20. The authorities highlighted that a significant part of the external debt is related to viable, large resource projects. They believe that energy sector projects will generate high and stable economic returns upon completion. While going forward, the authorities felt that external borrowing from China will decline, as lending will focus on the energy sector and on guaranteed terms only.

Conclusion

21. Although Lao P.D.R.’s risk of external debt distress remains moderate, it is on the cusp of a transition to high risk, with heightened vulnerabilities for public debt. While debt service ratios remain within the policy-dependent indicative thresholds in the baseline, primarily because of the still high concessionality of official borrowing, the PV of external debt to GDP ratio breaches the indicative threshold for some years, leaving almost no buffers in the case of adverse shocks. Given that the traditional approach identifies the risk of debt distress as borderline between moderate and high, a probability approach is adopted, using Laos-specific indicators. The results show that the debt distress probability remains below the threshold in the baseline for all indicators, except the external debt to GDP ratio, which breaches the threshold for a brief period. Also, given the considerable share of foreign currency denominated debt, a large sudden exchange rate depreciation could significantly raise the debt-to-GDP and the debt service-to-revenue trajectories for external and public debt. In that event, the elevated private external debt would also raise concern. Large sudden exchange rate depreciation would put public debt dynamics on an unsustainable path well above the baseline. While the external risk rating does not warrant a change at this time because baseline breaches of the thresholds under both the traditional and probability approaches are minor and temporary, the breaches do suggest heightened vulnerabilities, which should be addressed through fiscal consolidation, as recommended by staff, and by strengthening public investment management capacity.

Figure 2.
Figure 2.

Lao P.D.R.: Indicators of Public and Publicly Guaranteed External Debt Under Alternative Scenarios, 2014–34 1/

(Probability Approach)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2015, 045; 10.5089/9781498341752.002.A002

Sources: Country authorities; and staff estimates and projections.1/ The most extreme stress test is the test that yields the highest ratio on or before 2024. In figure b. it corresponds to a One-time depreciation shock; in c. to a Non-debt flows shock; in d. to a One-time depreciation shock; in e. to a Non-debt flows shock and in figure f. to a One-time depreciation shock
Figure 3.
Figure 3.

Lao P.D.R.: Indicators of Public Debt Under Alternative Scenarios 2014–34 1/

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2015, 045; 10.5089/9781498341752.002.A002

Sources: Country authorities; and staff estimates and projections.1/ The most extreme stress test is the test that yields the highest ratio on or before 2024.2/ Revenues are defined inclusive of grants.
Table 1.

Lao P.D.R.: External Debt Sustainability Framework, Baseline Scenario, 2011–34 1/

(In percent of GDP, unless otherwise indicated)

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Sources: Country authorities; and staff estimates and projections.

Includes both public and private sector external debt.

Derived as [r - g - ρ(1+g)]/(1+g+ρ+gρ) times previous period debt ratio, with r = nominal interest rate; g = real GDP growth rate, and ρ = growth rate of GDP deflator in U.S. dollar terms.

Includes exceptional financing (i.e., changes in arrears and debt relief); changes in gross foreign assets; and valuation adjustments. For projections also includes contribution from price and exchange rate changes.

Assumes that PV of private sector debt is equivalent to its face value.

Current-year interest payments divided by previous period debt stock.

Historical averages and standard deviations are generally derived over the past 10 years, subject to data availability.

Defined as grants, concessional loans, and debt relief.

Grant-equivalent financing includes grants provided directly to the government and through new borrowing (difference between the face value and the PV of new debt).

Table 2.

Lao P.D.R.: Public Sector Debt Sustainability Framework, Baseline Scenario, 2011–34

(In percent of GDP, unless otherwise indicated)

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Sources: Country authorities; and staff estimates and projections.

[Indicate coverage of public sector, e.g., general government or nonfinancial public sector. Also whether net or gross debt is used.]

Gross financing need is defined as the primary deficit plus debt service plus the stock of short-term debt at the end of the last period.

Revenues excluding grants.

Debt service is defined as the sum of interest and amortization of medium and long-term debt.

Historical averages and standard deviations are generally derived over the past 10 years, subject to data availability.

Table 3.

Lao P.D.R.: Sensitivity Analysis for Key Indicators of Public and Publicly Guaranteed External Debt, 2014–34

(In percent)

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Sources: Country authorities; and staff estimates and projections.

Variables include real GDP growth, growth of GDP deflator (in U.S. dollar terms), non-interest current account in percent of GDP, and non-debt creating flows.

Assumes that the interest rate on new borrowing is by 2 percentage points higher than in the baseline., while grace and maturity periods are the same as in the baseline.

Exports values are assumed to remain permanently at the lower level, but the current account as a share of GDP is assumed to return to its baseline level after the shock (implicitly a an offsetting adjustment in import levels).

Includes official and private transfers and FDI.

Depreciation is defined as percentage decline in dollar/local currency rate, such that it never exceeds 100 percent.

Applies to all stress scenarios except for A2 (less favorable financing) in which the terms on all new financing are as specified in footnote 2.

Table 4.

Lao P.D.R.: Sensitivity Analysis for Key Indicators of Public Debt 2014–34

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Sources: Country authorities; and staff estimates and projections.

Assumes that real GDP growth is at baseline minus one standard deviation divided by the square root of the length of the projection period.

Revenues are defined inclusive of grants.

1

This DSA has been prepared by IMF and World Bank staffs, in consultation with the Lao P.D.R. authorities.

2

The low-income country debt sustainability framework (LIC DSF) recognizes that better policies and institutions allow countries to manage higher levels of debt, and thus the threshold levels for debt indicators are policy-dependent. In the LIC-DSF, the quality of a country’s policies and institutions is measured by the World Bank’s Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) index and classified into three categories: strong, medium, and weak. Lao P.D.R.’s policies and institutions, as measured by the CPIA, averaged 3.37 over the past three years. Since its average CPIA index has been above 3.25 for three years in a row, Lao P.D.R.’s policy performance remains classified as medium according to the “Staff Guidance Note on the Application of the Joint Fund-Bank Debt Sustainability Framework for Low-income Countries” (www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2010/012210.pdf). Therefore, the relevant indicative thresholds for this category are: 40 percent for the PV of debt-to-GDP ratio, 150 percent for the PV of debt-to-exports ratio, 250 percent for the PV of debt-to-revenue ratio, 20 percent for the debt service-to-exports ratio, and 20 percent for the debt service-to-revenue ratio. These thresholds are applicable to public and publicly guaranteed external debt.

3

Lao P.D.R.’s CPIA index declined marginally in 2013, not sufficient to change the classification of its policy performance, which remains moderate.

4

Recorded domestic PPG debt (excluding arrears) declined marginally in 2013 as due to accumulation of arrears.