Abstract
2019 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Vanuatu
Fund Relations
(As of May 14, 2019)
Membership Status: joined September 28, 1981; Article VIII
General Resources Account:
| SDR Million | Percent Quota | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota | 23.80 | 100.00 |
| Fund holdings of currency | 24.92 | 104.70 |
| Reserves tranche position | 4.20 | 17.63 |
| SDR Million | Percent Quota | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota | 23.80 | 100.00 |
| Fund holdings of currency | 24.92 | 104.70 |
| Reserves tranche position | 4.20 | 17.63 |
SDR Department:
| SDR Million | Percent Allocation | |
|---|---|---|
| Net cumulative allocations | 16.27 | 100.00 |
| Holdings | 0.82 | 5.02 |
| SDR Million | Percent Allocation | |
|---|---|---|
| Net cumulative allocations | 16.27 | 100.00 |
| Holdings | 0.82 | 5.02 |
Outstanding Purchases and Loans:
Emergency Assistance may include ENDA, EPCA, and RFI.
| SDR Million | Percent Quota | |
|---|---|---|
| RCF Loans | 8.50 | 35.71 |
| Emergency Assistance 1/ | 5.31 | 22.32 |
Emergency Assistance may include ENDA, EPCA, and RFI.
| SDR Million | Percent Quota | |
|---|---|---|
| RCF Loans | 8.50 | 35.71 |
| Emergency Assistance 1/ | 5.31 | 22.32 |
Emergency Assistance may include ENDA, EPCA, and RFI.
Latest Financial Arrangements: None
Projected Payments to the Fund 2/
(SDR million; based on existing use of resources and presenting holdings of SDRs);
When a member has overdue financial obligations outstanding for more than three months, the amount of such arrears will be shown in this section.
| Forthcoming | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Principal | 3.19 | 2.98 | 1.70 | 1.70 | 1.70 |
| Charges/Interest | 0.21 | 0.20 | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.18 |
| Total | 3.40 | 3.18 | 1.88 | 1.88 | 1.88 |
When a member has overdue financial obligations outstanding for more than three months, the amount of such arrears will be shown in this section.
| Forthcoming | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Principal | 3.19 | 2.98 | 1.70 | 1.70 | 1.70 |
| Charges/Interest | 0.21 | 0.20 | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.18 |
| Total | 3.40 | 3.18 | 1.88 | 1.88 | 1.88 |
When a member has overdue financial obligations outstanding for more than three months, the amount of such arrears will be shown in this section.
Implementation of HIPC Initiative: Not applicable
Implementation of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative: Not applicable
Implementation of Catastrophe Containment and Relief: Not applicable
Exchange Arrangements
Since 1988, Vanuatu has officially maintained an adjustable peg exchange rate arrangement. Currently, the exchange rate of the vatu is linked to a transactions-weighted (trade and tourism receipts) basket of currencies. The weights and composition of the basket, which are not publicly disclosed, are adjusted periodically. The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu (RBV) quotes daily buying and selling rates for the vatu against the U.S., Australian, and New Zealand dollars; the euro; the U.K. pound; and the Japanese yen. The rate in terms of the U.S. dollar as of May 14, 2019 was VT 115.01 per U.S. dollar. The de facto classification is “other managed,” as the composite weights are not disclosed and cannot be confirmed. Vanuatu has accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4, and maintains an exchange system that is free of restrictions on payments and transfers for current international transactions.
Article IV Consultation
Vanuatu is on a 12–month consultation cycle. The previous Article IV consultation mission took place during January 29-February 8, 2018 and the consultation was concluded on a lapse-of-time basis on April 6, 2018 (Country Report No. 18/109).
OFC Assessments
The most recent Offshore Financial Center Module II Assessment, conducted by MFD, was concluded in May 2006.
Safeguards Assessment
The first safeguards assessment of the RBV was completed in October 2016 in connection with emergency financing received in 2015. The assessment found that the RBV has a recognized accounting framework and publishes annual financial statements, albeit with some delay. It also identified several weaknesses in its governance arrangements, autonomy, transparency, and audit mechanisms. Recommendations included: (i) drafting amendments to the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act to align it with leading practices for central banks; (ii) establishing an Audit Committee; (iii) outsourcing internal audit services to an independent international audit firm; and (iv) formulating a recapitalization plan. While the RBV received technical assistance on the recapitalization framework and recently appointed an internal auditor, progress in implementing the safeguards recommendations has been slow.
Technical Assistance
Technical assistance on public financial management, central bank audit functions, financial supervision, and statistics (GDP and government finance) has been provided mainly through PFTAC, with additional support for training on the LIC DSF at CICDC.
Resident Representative
The resident representative office for the Pacific Islands, including Vanuatu, was opened in September 2010 in Suva, Fiji. Ms. Leni Hunter is the current Resident Representative.
Relations with Other International Financial Institutions (IFIs)
Relations with other IFIs:
World Bank Group: http://projects.worldbank.org/search?lang=en&searchTerm=&countrycode_exact=VU
Asian Development Bank: https://www.adb.org/countries/vanuatu/main
Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Center: https://www.pftac.org/content/PFTAC/en1/reports11.html#tab_5
Statistical Issues
| I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance | |
| General: Data provision has shortcomings but is broadly adequate for surveillance. In particular, national accounts and external sector statistics need to be further improved, while the coverage of government finance statistics could be expanded. Reporting lags could be shortened. | |
| National accounts: While there have been improvements in the methodology and the development of additional data sources, the accuracy of expenditure-based GDP estimates could be further improved. Data are compiled only on an annual basis. Unsettled staffing has set back plans to rebase GDP and develop a new quarterly measure to at least 2019. 2016 data have been updated, and 2017 preliminary estimates published in December 2018. PFTAC is providing technical assistance in national accounts compilation and has refocused on core capacity development to provide a solid basis for reviving development work in FY2021 and FY2022. Price statistics: The CPI weights are based on 1998 household surveys, and only cover the two urban centers of Port Vila and Luganville. Rebasing the CPI to a more recent base year may start after a new Household Income and Expenditure Survey in 2019. | |
| Government finance statistics: The budget classification is broadly consistent with the GFSM 2001. Work is underway to migrate budget classification to the GFSM 2014. The latest data submitted for the annual GFS database were budgetary central government for 2017. Data produced by Department of Finance and Treasury (DoFT, part of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, MFEM), Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO), and the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu (RBV) still have discrepancies that should be reconciled. Statistical discrepancies also exist in the balance sheet for transactions in assets and liabilities. Coverage is being expanded to the general government but there have been significant time delays and data gaps. GFS data are compiled and published monthly by the DoFT but not reported to STA for inclusion in the International Financial Statistics (IFS); the latest information available in IFS is for December 2016. | |
| Monetary statistics: Monetary statistics are compiled broadly in line with the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual. The RBV reports monthly monetary data, using Standardized Report Forms (SRFs) for the central bank and other depository corporations, which are published in the International Financial Statistics. Following a regional workshop in 2016, the RBV also reports Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) on a quarterly basis, including all 12 core and 7 encouraged indicators for deposit takers. The data reported by Vanuatu to the Financial Access Survey (FAS) are sparse but include the two indicators adopted by the UN to monitor Target 8.10.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The last data submission to FAS was in 2017. | |
| External sector statistics: The RBV releases quarterly BOP and IIP data in its Quarterly Economic Review, although issues were not published in 2018Q1 and 2018Q2, but resumed in 2018Q3. The Debt Management Unit within the MFEM has been responsible for public debt management and recording since 2015; however, these processes need further improvement. Two external sector statistics missions visited Vanuatu in the second half of 2015 to assist the authorities in improving the collection and reporting of external debt and external sector statistics. The latest mission was conducted in May 2019 to improve the reporting of data for services and the financial account, in particular. | |
| II. Data Standards and Quality | |
| Participant in the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) since April 2004. Started implementing the enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) in 2018. | No data ROSC is available. |
| I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance | |
| General: Data provision has shortcomings but is broadly adequate for surveillance. In particular, national accounts and external sector statistics need to be further improved, while the coverage of government finance statistics could be expanded. Reporting lags could be shortened. | |
| National accounts: While there have been improvements in the methodology and the development of additional data sources, the accuracy of expenditure-based GDP estimates could be further improved. Data are compiled only on an annual basis. Unsettled staffing has set back plans to rebase GDP and develop a new quarterly measure to at least 2019. 2016 data have been updated, and 2017 preliminary estimates published in December 2018. PFTAC is providing technical assistance in national accounts compilation and has refocused on core capacity development to provide a solid basis for reviving development work in FY2021 and FY2022. Price statistics: The CPI weights are based on 1998 household surveys, and only cover the two urban centers of Port Vila and Luganville. Rebasing the CPI to a more recent base year may start after a new Household Income and Expenditure Survey in 2019. | |
| Government finance statistics: The budget classification is broadly consistent with the GFSM 2001. Work is underway to migrate budget classification to the GFSM 2014. The latest data submitted for the annual GFS database were budgetary central government for 2017. Data produced by Department of Finance and Treasury (DoFT, part of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, MFEM), Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO), and the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu (RBV) still have discrepancies that should be reconciled. Statistical discrepancies also exist in the balance sheet for transactions in assets and liabilities. Coverage is being expanded to the general government but there have been significant time delays and data gaps. GFS data are compiled and published monthly by the DoFT but not reported to STA for inclusion in the International Financial Statistics (IFS); the latest information available in IFS is for December 2016. | |
| Monetary statistics: Monetary statistics are compiled broadly in line with the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual. The RBV reports monthly monetary data, using Standardized Report Forms (SRFs) for the central bank and other depository corporations, which are published in the International Financial Statistics. Following a regional workshop in 2016, the RBV also reports Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) on a quarterly basis, including all 12 core and 7 encouraged indicators for deposit takers. The data reported by Vanuatu to the Financial Access Survey (FAS) are sparse but include the two indicators adopted by the UN to monitor Target 8.10.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The last data submission to FAS was in 2017. | |
| External sector statistics: The RBV releases quarterly BOP and IIP data in its Quarterly Economic Review, although issues were not published in 2018Q1 and 2018Q2, but resumed in 2018Q3. The Debt Management Unit within the MFEM has been responsible for public debt management and recording since 2015; however, these processes need further improvement. Two external sector statistics missions visited Vanuatu in the second half of 2015 to assist the authorities in improving the collection and reporting of external debt and external sector statistics. The latest mission was conducted in May 2019 to improve the reporting of data for services and the financial account, in particular. | |
| II. Data Standards and Quality | |
| Participant in the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) since April 2004. Started implementing the enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) in 2018. | No data ROSC is available. |
Vanuatu: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of May 2019)
Daily (D), Weekly (W), Monthly (M), Quarterly (Q), Annually (A), Irregular (I), and Not Available (N/A).
Includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially-determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Foreign and domestic financing.
The central government is only the budgetary central government. The data not monthly to STA or IFS. The last available information in IFS available is December 2016. On April 30, 2019 the Government started to release the data through its e-GDDS National Summary Data Page
Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-à-vis nonresidents.
Vanuatu: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of May 2019)
| Date of latest Observation | Date Received | Frequency of Data1 | Frequency of Reporting1 | Frequency of Publication1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Rates | 2/2019 | 4/2019 | M | M | M |
| International Reserve Assets and Reserve Liabilities of the Monetary Authorities2 | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Reserve/Base Money | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Broad Money | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Central Bank Balance Sheet | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Interest Rates3 | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| Consumer Price Index | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing4—General | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Revenue, Exp enditure, Balance and Composition of Financing4,5—Central Government | 12/2018 | 2/2019 | M | M | M |
| Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt6 | 2018 | 4/2019 | A | A | A |
| External Current Account Balance | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| GDP/GNP | 2017 | 12/2018 | A | A | A |
| Gross External Debt | 12/2017 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| International Investment Position | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
Daily (D), Weekly (W), Monthly (M), Quarterly (Q), Annually (A), Irregular (I), and Not Available (N/A).
Includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially-determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Foreign and domestic financing.
The central government is only the budgetary central government. The data not monthly to STA or IFS. The last available information in IFS available is December 2016. On April 30, 2019 the Government started to release the data through its e-GDDS National Summary Data Page
Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-à-vis nonresidents.
Vanuatu: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of May 2019)
| Date of latest Observation | Date Received | Frequency of Data1 | Frequency of Reporting1 | Frequency of Publication1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Rates | 2/2019 | 4/2019 | M | M | M |
| International Reserve Assets and Reserve Liabilities of the Monetary Authorities2 | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Reserve/Base Money | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Broad Money | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Central Bank Balance Sheet | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System | 11/2018 | 1/2019 | M | M | M |
| Interest Rates3 | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| Consumer Price Index | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing4—General | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Revenue, Exp enditure, Balance and Composition of Financing4,5—Central Government | 12/2018 | 2/2019 | M | M | M |
| Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt6 | 2018 | 4/2019 | A | A | A |
| External Current Account Balance | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| GDP/GNP | 2017 | 12/2018 | A | A | A |
| Gross External Debt | 12/2017 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| International Investment Position | 9/2018 | 4/2019 | Q | Q | Q |
Daily (D), Weekly (W), Monthly (M), Quarterly (Q), Annually (A), Irregular (I), and Not Available (N/A).
Includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially-determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Foreign and domestic financing.
The central government is only the budgetary central government. The data not monthly to STA or IFS. The last available information in IFS available is December 2016. On April 30, 2019 the Government started to release the data through its e-GDDS National Summary Data Page
Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-à-vis nonresidents.