Download or read book Belize 2021 Article IV Consultation Press Release Staff Report and Statement by the Executive Director for Belize written by International Monetary and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-06-07 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Belize has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a deep recession and worsened fiscal and external positions from already weak levels. The opposition People’s United Party won the November 2020 elections by a wide margin, which gives the new government a unique opportunity to jump start much needed reforms to reduce large imbalances and anchor strong and inclusive growth.
Download or read book Belize written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2023-05-12 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outlook and Risks. Economic activity is projected to moderate after a strong recovery from the pandemic. After growing by 15 percent in 2021 and 12 percent in 2022, real GDP is projected to grow by 2.4 percent in 2023 and 2.0 percent over the medium term as spare capacity is exhausted. Revenue growth and fiscal consolidation have increased the primary balance to 1.2 percent of GDP from FY2022 onwards, which is projected to reduce public debt from 64 percent of GDP in 2022 to 53 percent in 2028. Risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside, including a sharp slowdown in advanced economies, further increases in commodity prices, and climate-related disasters.
Download or read book Guatemala 2021 Article IV Consultation Press Release Staff Report and Statement by the Executive Director for Guatemala written by International Monetary and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-06-11 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Guatemala has managed to keep infections and deaths moderate during the pandemic. The economic impact of COVID-19 has been mild given an early reopening of the economy, unprecedented policy support, and resilient remittances and exports. However, despite large-scale government interventions to support households, poverty and malnutrition have deteriorated following COVID-19 and the two major hurricanes battering Guatemala last November.
Download or read book Belize written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2019-12-09 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This 2019 Article IV Consultation with Belize focused on structural reforms to raise growth and social inclusion; strengthening resilience to natural disasters; balanced medium-term fiscal consolidation; tax reform; and strengthening financial oversight and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism actions. Public debt remains above 90 percent of gross domestic product, the current account deficit is projected to remain large over the medium term, and international reserves are just below three months of imports of goods and services. The pace of structural reform has been slow. Downside risks, including from slower US growth, natural disasters, crime, and renewed pressures on correspondent banking relationships could weaken growth and financial stability. Belize is adapting its tax regime in response to concerns from multilateral institutions regarding potentially harmful features. Sustaining Belize’s recent economic expansion, spurring private investment, and facilitating structural diversification hinges on strengthening the business environment.
Download or read book Belize written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-11-16 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Belize’s economic growth has slowed over the last five years, following decades of outperforming regional peers. As in other countries in the region, a central challenge is exiting the cycle of low growth and elevated public debt. Belize’s 2017 debt rescheduling provided cash flow relief. In March 2017, the government reached a restructuring agreement with private external bondholders on its US$526 million bond (about 30 percent of GDP).1 As part of the agreement, the authorities committed to tighten the fiscal stance by 3.0 percentage points in FY2017/18 and to maintain a primary surplus of 2.0 percent of GDP for the subsequent three years. The authorities are delivering on these commitments and have made progress in implementing recent Article IV recommendations (Annex I).
Download or read book Belize 2022 Article IV Consultation Press Release and Staff Report written by International Monetary and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2022-05-10 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on Belize in 2020, leading to a 16.7 percent contraction in real GDP and a rise in public debt to an unsustainable level of 133 percent of GDP. To address this situation, the government presented a medium-term plan to lower public debt to 85 percent of GDP in 2025 and 70 percent in 2030 by implementing fiscal consolidation, structural reforms, and debt restructuring. Significant progress towards restoring debt sustainability was made in 2021.
Download or read book Belize written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2024-05-15 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outlook and Risks. Real GDP growth and inflation moderated in 2023 and are projected to decline further over the medium term as the output gap closes and global commodity prices fall. The fiscal position remains robust, but debt dynamics have become more challenging due to the increase in the interest rate – growth differential, with public debt projected to remain above 50 percent of GDP over the next decade. Risks to the outlook include further increases in commodity prices and climate-related disasters.
Download or read book Belize written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights that adverse developments negatively impacted the Belizean economy in 2016, with strong expansion of tourism the only bright spot. Output is estimated to have contracted by 0.8 percent in 2016, reflecting a continued slowdown in oil production and agriculture. Fish and citrus production were hit by diseases. Growth in tourism was facilitated by improved airlift, marketing and new foreign direct investment projects. Unemployment increased to 11.1 percent in September 2016, from 10.2 percent a year earlier. Growth is projected at just under 2 percent over the medium term.
Download or read book Belize written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 87 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The economic outlook is mainly characterized by sluggish growth and a weak fiscal stance, which have put public debt on an unsustainable path. The widening current account deficit would put strong pressures on international reserves, which could decline to very low levels. Low capital buffers would remain a drag on the financial system. Main risks continue to be a court decision that leads to larger than expected liabilities to the former owners of the nationalized companies and weaknesses in the systemic bank.
Download or read book Timor Leste 2021 Article IV Consultation Press Release Staff Report and Statement by the Executive Director for Timor Leste written by International Monetary and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-07-14 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although Timor-Leste has made considerable progress in many areas since its independence in 2002, it faces significant medium-term challenges. The nation has pressing development needs, young institutions, and is highly dependent on oil. Oil revenues from active fields, which have been the main source of funding for government spending, are drying up. The non-oil private sector economy remains underdeveloped and lack of good jobs and high youth unemployment are serious concerns.
Download or read book Mauritius 2021 Article IV Consultation Press Release Staff Report and Statement by the Executive Director for Mauritius written by International Monetary and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-06-28 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic Impact of the Pandemic and Policy Responses. Mauritius has been successful in containing the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to strict health measures but the halt in tourism has significantly affected its tourism-dependent economy. A comprehensive set of stimulus measures to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic, including a wage subsidy and income support for the self-employed, have provided support to firms and households.
Download or read book Nicaragua written by International Monetary and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2023-01-27 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Substantial pre-crisis buffers (primarily government deposits), prudent policies, and official external financial assistance helped Nicaragua recover well from a protracted downturn during 2018-2020 caused by the socio-political crisis of 2018, two major hurricanes in 2020, and the pandemic. Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 10.3 percent in 2021 and is projected to grow by 4 percent in 2022, despite hurricane Julia that affected the country in October. Inflation on an annual basis reached 11.4 percent in November 2022, mostly due to increases in import prices. The authorities introduced fiscal measures to mitigate the impact of the increases in oil and wheat prices, and also increased the reference interest rate. Bank deposits are growing strongly and reached the pre-crisis level (in Córdobas). Gross international reserves have doubled since end-2018 (to over US$4 billion; about 6 months of imports, excluding maquila).
Download or read book Guyana written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2022-09-27 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the pandemic-induced recession in 2020, economic growth recovered in 2021, with non-oil GDP growth reaching 4.6 percent, despite being negatively impacted by floods. Inflation increased markedly since 2021 owing to the floods and supply-side disruptions, as well as continually rising fuel and food prices. Oil production increased and will ramp up substantially over the medium term.
Download or read book Tunisia written by International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-02-26 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pandemic aggravated Tunisia’s long-standing vulnerabilities stemming from persistent fiscal and external imbalances, rising debt, and contingent liabilities from inefficient state-owned enterprises. The crisis is expected to induce the largest contraction in real GDP since independence. The authorities’ targeted response together with higher outlays on wages widened the fiscal deficit. A second Covid-19 wave is underway. The authorities are securing 500,000 doses to start a first campaign of vaccinations in February and are aiming to secure more doses to vaccinate half of the population starting in April–May. Staff expects GDP growth to rebound modestly in 2021, but it could take years before activity returns to pre-crisis levels, especially if large imbalances were not addressed and key reforms delayed. Downside risks dominate and recent protests highlight the level of social tensions, aggravated by Covid-19 restrictions, and particularly among the youth.
Download or read book Gender agrifood value chains and climate resilient agriculture in Small Island Developing States written by Percy, R., Christensen, I., Safa Barraza, A., Berthelin, L. and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2022-05-19 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the current context of climate change, focusing on gender equality in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) can drive improvements in resilience, food security and nutrition. This document seeks to enrich the knowledge and evidence base on gender, food systems and resilience in the SIDS of the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS) region, providing evidence from Barbados, Cabo Verde, Comoros (the), Palau, Saint Lucia, Samoa and Sao Tome and Principe. It focuses specifically on gender-related roles, gender gaps and traditional knowledge in agriculture and natural resource management to better support women’s participation in value chains and the benefits they receive from value chain development. It calls for radical transformations to build resilient livelihoods, overcome gender inequalities and help rural women and men reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters. Furthermore, the transformations called for, which focus on gender equity, will increase the resilience of rural livelihoods to unforeseen events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in view of the critical role women play in ensuring food security and nutrition.
Download or read book Jamaica written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2024-03-08 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last decade, Jamaica has successfully reduced public debt, anchored inflation, and strengthened its external position. It has built a strong track record of investing in institutions and prioritizing macroeconomic stability. This allowed Jamaica's response to recent global shocks to be prudent, agile, and supportive of growth. During the most recent fiscal year growth has remained strong, and inflation is converging to the Bank of Jamaica’s inflation target band.
Download or read book Belize written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2016-10-28 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growth is expected to average less than 2 percent in the medium-term. The envisaged fiscal adjustment would remain insufficient to significantly reduce the very high public debt. Large external imbalances, driven by large current account deficits, repayment of the super bond and remaining payments for the nationalized telecommunication company (BTL), would reduce international reserves to uncomfortable levels. The further withdrawal by global banks of correspondent relationships with Belizean banks and low capital buffers in some banks are key threats to financial stability. Insufficient fiscal adjustment and weaknesses in the banking system are significant risks.
