Solomon Islands: Staff Report for the 2005 Article IV Consultation


Book Description

The Solomon Islands’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that the improvement in the economic performance registered after the arrival of the Australian-led intervention force in mid-2003 has continued. The projected deterioration in the external current account reflects investment-related imports, but reserve coverage should remain comfortable. The budget is projected to record a small deficit owing to one-off factors and higher spending as capacity and wages rise. With logging set to decline from its unsustainable level, much depends on new private activities coming on stream to replace lost incomes, exports, and government revenue.







Solomon Islands


Book Description

This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economy of the Solomon Islands grew by 3.5 percent in 2016 driven by a peak in the forestry sector. Growth remained solid in 2017 and is projected at 3.0 for 2018, buoyed by infrastructure spending, fisheries and agriculture, although logging production is slowing down. Inflation is contained at an annual rate of just 1.6 percent in October 2017. The current account deficit has widened a little but international reserves levels are comfortable. The fiscal deficit is expected to have reached 4.0 percent of GDP in 2017 and to widen further in 2018. The risks to the economy are on the downside with the weakening fiscal position heightening vulnerability to shocks.




Chad


Book Description

This paper analyzes the effect of an IMF Staff-Monitored Program for Chad to enhance economic development. Weak institutional capacity and governance concerns have limited economic development and donor support in Chad. It is highlighted that the reduction in the nonoil primary deficit envisaged in the 2013 budget appears appropriate, but expenditures linked to the regional security situation and lower than anticipated oil revenues imply large financing needs. There are significant economic and political risks to program implementation,; the regional security situation remains volatile, and the economy is highly dependent on volatile oil revenue.




The Millennium Development Goals and Beyond


Book Description

This book examines how international aid donors and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) can assist countries in the Asia-Pacific region achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The book examines the progress countries have made towards the MDGs and highlights the need to tailor the goals to individual country circumstances.




The Solomon Islands


Book Description

This 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic conditions in the Solomon Islands have weakened in 2009, given the effects of the global recession and a logging sector decline. Real GDP growth is projected at 0.4 percent in 2009, compared with 6.9 percent in 2008. On the positive side, inflation pressures have eased substantially, mainly owing to lower fuel and food prices. Executive Directors have advised the authorities to address the increasingly unsustainable fiscal situation, given possible permanent losses in logging-related revenues, relatively large expenditure outlays, and government financing constraints.




Solomon Islands


Book Description

Solomon Islands’ economy has rebounded from the 2008–09 global financial crisis. An 18-month Standby Credit Facility has been approved in June 2010 and succeeded in restoring macroeconomic and financial stability. A new resource taxation regime is the key to reap the benefits from natural resource wealth and ensure that the government receives a fair share of mining revenue. Reforms of mining legislation should be a key part of a broader set of measures to improve the investment climate and the regulatory framework.




Solomon Islands 2010 Economic Report


Book Description

Economic and social progress in Solomon Islands has been limited since the country’s independence, and the recent global economic crisis has placed more pressure on the country’s economy. The resulting fiscal crunch and emerging balance-of-payments pressures demand a coordinated macroeconomic policy response, featuring recurrent expenditure restraint,prudent monetary policy, and public sector reform. Grant-funded infrastructure will also need to play a key role in supporting economic and employment growth. Finally, because the country is a high-cost, risky place in which to do business, the government must focus on removing constraints to private sector growth. This report outlines these recommendations for the medium- to long-term economic growth of Solomon Islands.




Samoa


Book Description

This 2005 Article IV Consultation for Samoa reports that the combination of sound economic management and structural reform had led to robust growth, low inflation, sound public finances, and a comfortable external position. With continued commitment to sound macroeconomic and reform policies, Samoa became one of the best managed economies in the Pacific Island region. The level of public debt has steadily declined from more than 90 percent to about 50 percent. Samoa also made progress toward the Millennium Development Goals.




Continuing Reforms to Stimulate Private Sector Investment


Book Description

A business environment that supports private sector-led growth is the key to long-term sustainable poverty reduction. This has been recognized by successive Solomon Islands’ governments who have implemented fundamental reforms that have modernized the environment for doing business in the country with some far-reaching reforms. This private sector assessment (PSA) analyzes the reforms to date and suggests further policy actions and priorities in the areas of business law reform, promoting economic opportunities for women, infrastructure, state-owned enterprises, the tax system, and the financial system. The policy recommendations in the PSA provide the basis for discussions between the Government of Solomon Islands, the private sector, and other stakeholders regarding future reform priorities that will contribute to the country’s resources being used most productively. This PSA was produced by the Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative---a regional technical assistance facility cofinanced by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Government of Australia, and the Government of New Zealand.