Benin: Staff Report for the 2019 Article IV Consultation, Fourth Review Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria—Informational Annex
Author: International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
Publication Date:
02 Jul 2019
eISBN:
9781498323802
Language:
English
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Eurobond issuance; deficit; debt ratio; financing mix; financial asset; core process; CFA franc; SDR equivalent; delivery date; Customs administration core functions; Tax administration core functions; Government finance statistics; Balance of payments statistics
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2019 Article IV Consultation, Fourth Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Benin

Abstract

2019 Article IV Consultation, Fourth Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Benin

Relations with the Fund

(As of April 30, 2019)

1. Membership Status: Joined: July 10, 1963 Article VIII

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5. Latest Financial Arrangements:

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6. Overdue Obligations and Projected Payments to Fund:2

(SDR Million; based on existing use of resources and present holdings of SDRs):

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7. Implementation of HIPC Initiative:

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Decision point - point at which the IMF and the World Bank determine whether a country qualifies for assistance under the HIPC Initiative and decide on the amount of assistance to be committed.

Interim assistance - amount disbursed to a country during the period between decision and completion points, up to 20 percent annually and 60 percent in total of the assistance committed at the decision point (or 25 percent and 75 percent, respectively, in exceptional circumstances).

Completion point - point at which a country receives the remaining balance of its assistance committed at the decision point, together with an additional disbursement of interest income as defined in footnote 2 above. The timing of the completion point is linked to the implementation of pre-agreed key structural reforms (i.e., floating completion point).

8. Implementation of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI):

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9. Implementation of Catastrophe Containment and Relief (CCR): Not Applicable.

As of February 4, 2015, the Post-Catastrophe Debt Relief Trust has been transformed to the Catastrophe Containment and Relief (CCR).

10. Exchange Arrangement:

Benin is a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The union’s common currency, the CFA franc, is pegged to the Euro at a rate of CFAF 655.957 = EUR 1, consistent with the official conversions rate of the French franc to the Euro and the previous fixed rate of the CFA franc to the French franc of CFAF 100= F 1. The dejure and de facto exchange rate arrangements are a conventional peg. As of June 1, 1996, Benin and other members of WEAMU accepted the obligations of Articles VIII, section2, 3, and 4 of the Fund’s Articles of Agreement. Benin’s exchange system has no restrictions on making payments or transfers for current international transactions and the country does not engage in multiple currency practices.

11. Article IV Consultations:

The last completed Article IV consultation was completed on December 1, 2017 based on staff discussions with the authorities in Cotonou from September 13 to 27, and in Washington DC during October 10 to 11.

12. ROSC Assessment:

A Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) mission conducted the fiscal module of a Report on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) in May 2001. The mission recommended the adoption of a three-year action plan containing measures to improve expenditure management. The mission also identified a list of actions to be taken quickly to ensure that the authorities could monitor budget execution. The ROSC fiscal transparency module for Benin was circulated to the Board on June 6, 2002 (Country Report No. 02/217). In 2009, the World Bank conducted an Accounting and Auditing ROSC, for which the report was published on April 18, 2009.

13. Technical Assistance for the Last Five Years:

Headquarters

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Afritac West

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14. Resident Representative:

Mr. Karim Barhoumi assumed his position in Cotonou as Resident Representative in 2016.

Joint World Bank-IMF Work Program, 2019–20

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Statistical Issues

As of May 2019

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Benin: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance

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Any reserve assets that are pledged or otherwise encumbered should be specified separately. Also, data should comprise short-term liabilities linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means as well as the notional values of financial derivatives to pay and to receive foreign currency, including those linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means.

Both market-based and officially-determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.

Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.

The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extra budgetary funds, and social security fun and state and local governments.

Including currency and maturity composition.

Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-à-vis nonresidents.

Daily (D); weekly (W); monthly (M); quarterly (Q); annually (A); irregular (I); and not available (NA).

1

Formerly PRGF.

2

When a member has overdue financial obligations outstanding for more than three months the amount of such arrears will be shown in this section.

3

Assistance committed under the original framework is expressed in net present value (NPV) terms at the completion point, and assistance committed under the enhanced framework is expressed in NPV terms at the decision point. Hence, these two amounts cannot be added.

4

Under the enhanced framework, an additional disbursement is made at the completion point corresponding to interest income earned on the amount committed at the decision point but not disbursed during the interim period.

5

The MDRI provides 100 percent debt relief to eligible member countries that qualified for the assistance. Grant assistance from the MDRI Trust and HIPC resources provide debt relief to cover the full stock of debt owed to the Fund as of end-2004 that remains outstanding at the time the member qualifies for such debt relief.

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Benin: 2019 Article IV Consultation, Fourth Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Benin
Author: International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
Volume/Issue:
Volume 2019: Issue 203
Publisher:
International Monetary Fund
ISBN:
9781498323802
ISSN:
1934-7685
Pages:
122
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5089/9781498323802.002