## Introduction

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---

### Summary of mission outcomes and priority recommendations
- Mission: IMF Statistics Department (STA) mission visited Nouakchott from March 19–30, 2018, to provide technical assistance (TA) in external sector statistics (ESS) to the Central Bank of Mauritania (BCM). Initiative financed by the Financial Sector Stability Fund (FSSF): Balance Sheet Approach (BSA) Sub-Module.
- Mission objectives:
  - (i) improve the compilation of the balance of payments (BOP);
  - (ii) propose a framework for compiling the international investment position (IIP).
- Key findings:
  - Need to improve the quality of most items in the BOP, particularly the financial account, to aid IIP compilation.
  - BCM currently prepares and publishes the BOP in accordance with BPM5, using an analytical framework oriented to economic analyses rather than the BPM6 standard component presentation.
  - Primary data collection needs significant improvements in comprehensiveness and accuracy.
  - Nonbanking sector cross-border operations are very poorly represented in the BOP.
  - External debt statistics need quality improvements.
  - Current human resources assigned to ESS are insufficient: the BOP is produced by one statistician and a deputy director acting as a coordinator/statistician, who is in principle responsible for three divisions.
- Recommended next focuses to support IIP compilation:
  - Properly break down financial account indicators, beginning with better use of monetary statistics and splitting foreign assets and liabilities of the banking sector from those of the central bank.
  - Develop new data sources (such as a direct investment survey) to better cover the nonbanking sector.
  - Improve external debt statistics quality.
- Priority recommendation summary (selected items):
  - Strengthen the BOP team, ideally by adding new hires, rather than relocating staff from other BCM’s teams. — Target: December 2018 — Responsible: BCM
  - Adopt the BPM6 “standard format” model containing the standard BOP and IIP components in preparing the ESS. — Target: September 2018 — Responsible: BCM
  - Banking regulations:
    - Test and implement the classification developed by the BCM for use by commercial banks, with a view to improving accuracy regarding the type of transactions carried out by banks on behalf of their customers;
    - Add to the details collected by Swift codes identifying the nature of BOP transactions; ensure that the coding is done by the bank operators. — Target: September 2018 — Responsible: BCM

### Introduction and mission context
- STA mission dates: March 19–30, 2018.
- Mission focus:
  - (i) improving the system for compiling the BOP;
  - (ii) defining a statistical framework for IIP compilation consistent with the Mauritanian BOP system.
- Engagements:
  - Met with BCM focus team responsible for payments collection, BCM external debt team, and the Director of Resource Mobilization and Coordination of External Assistance of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
  - Met with the Governor of the BCM to discuss project optimization and the urgent necessity of strengthening ESS staff.

### Balance of Payments — compilation framework
- Structure of existing framework:
  - BOP system is based essentially on bank payments made by commercial banks for their own account and for customers’ accounts.
  - BCM devised a centralized reporting channel through the Banking Supervision Department to collect bank data.
  - A significant number of payments are made directly by the BCM: for its own account, on behalf of the government, and for state-owned enterprises.
  - Complementary sources: customs data, monetary statistics, and external debt data (largely covering concessional or semi-concessional loans to the public sector).
- Improvements since 2016 TA:
  - Quality of export and import data has improved significantly; merchandise statistics now properly linked to customs data.
- Identified weaknesses:
  - BOP is compiled and disseminated in an analytical format; collection and production are more suitable for that aggregated accounting framework.
  - Current account operations are presented in aggregated format with a relatively limited classification of services and income.
  - Financial account lacks detailed breakdown by financial instrument, institutional sector, and maturity.
  - Reserve assets remain too aggregated.
  - Weak coverage of private nonbank sector foreign claims and liabilities.
  - IIP is not produced; data collection framework for IIP is not in place.
- Mission proposal:
  - Adopt the “standard format” model containing the BOP standard components correlated with IIP classification to facilitate identification and linkage between financial account and IIP components.

### Human resources
- Current staffing:
  - All ESS work is done by a single compiler at the central bank, coordinated by the Deputy Director of the BOP Sub-Directorate.
  - Since October 2016, the team lost one member who was reassigned; current coverage depends on two individuals plus the Deputy Director.
  - The Deputy Director is expected to retire, creating an urgent need to train at least one senior staff member.
- Recommended measure:
  - Strengthen the BOP team, ideally by adding new hires, rather than relocating staff from other BCM teams.

### Data sources and reporting practices
- Main data sources:
  - Statements of bank payments by commercial banks and the central bank.
  - Monetary survey of banks and the BCM (processed in an aggregated manner).
  - Government’s oil account.
  - Statement of public debt.
- Data processing practices:
  - Collected data are not re-processed or cross-checked with other sources (except for trade in goods).
  - BOP does not include staff estimations.
  - Reporting of international bank payments does not reliably identify and classify transactions with necessary detail; frequent contact with bank personnel is required to obtain explanations.
  - Coding is often based on empirical assumptions; BOP accounts are estimated in the aggregate without precise details.
- Classification and IT:
  - BCM prepared a draft classification (Annex 2) for commercial banks to improve bank payment statements. The mission recommends immediate testing and rollout.
  - BCM prefers centralized, coordinated implementation of reporting changes.
- Specific recommendations on commercial credits:
  - Pay particular attention to correctly identifying denominations of commercial credits.
  - Group components of commercial credits as indicated in the structure proposed in Annex 3 (based on BPM6 Compilation Guide).

### Detailed technical assessment — Action plan (selected priority actions and target completion dates)
- High priority actions:
  - Adopt the “standard format” model containing the BOP and IIP standard components in preparing the ESS. — Target Completion Date: September 2018
  - Bank regulations: Test and implement the classification developed for use by commercial banks, with a view to improving accuracy regarding the type of transactions carried out by banks on behalf of their customers. — Target Completion Date: September 2018
  - Fine-tune the classification project. Pay particular attention to the denominations of commercial loans — ensure these flows are correctly identified, corresponding to the treatment recommended by the mission. — Target Completion Date: December 2018
  - Central bank regulations: Add to the details collected by Swift codes identifying the nature of BOP transactions; ensure that the coding is done by the bank operators; ensure that they are trained and that they are proficient in coding consistent with BOP needs. — Target Completion Date: September 2018
  - Identify a more detailed structure of commercial bank assets and liabilities in the monetary statistics; reconciliation of the items in the statement of assets and liabilities of other deposit institutions with the components of the IIP of the BPM6 Compilation Guide. — Target Completion Date: January 2019
  - Ask the Investment Directorate to report amounts outstanding and receipts (including interest) related to investments of funds for the account of the government. — Target Completion Date: July 2018
  - Ask the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization for a list of long-term public projects, with a view to examining and classifying them as direct investment; ensure reconciliation between direct investment components reported by enterprises and the disbursements/reimbursements made by the government. — Target Completion Date: July 2018
  - Use BIS statistics as a source of information for estimating the foreign deposits of the private nonbank sector. — Target Completion Date: July 2018
  - Compile a directory of direct investment companies (in particular, visit the “Guichet Unique” to obtain the list of enterprises to be surveyed). — Target Completion Date: July 2018
  - Implement the direct investment pilot survey for end-2016 positions. — Target Completion Date: September 2018
- Low priority action:
  - Identify the BOP/IIP components of the central bank’s assets and liabilities, using the more detailed breakdown of monetary statistics. — Target Completion Date: December 2018

### Balance of Payments (BOP) coding for payment orders
- Finding: Mission supports BCM proposal of adding a field containing BOP-appropriate descriptions to payment orders executed by Swift to permit real-time coding of operations at payment execution by staff responsible for payment orders.
- Implementation notes:
  - Use a classification of denominations similar to the one devised for bank payments.
  - BOP team will ensure that their colleagues receive training in BOP coding.
- Recommended measures:
  - Commercial bank payments:
    - BCM project focus team: Test and implement the classification developed for use by commercial banks—high-priority recommendation;
    - BOP team: Fine-tune the classification and harmonize the treatment of commercial credits by adopting the treatment recommended by the mission.
  - Central bank payments:
    - BCM project focus team: Add fields to the details collected by Swift containing denominations/codes to permit identification of the nature of BOP transactions;
    - BOP team: Ensure that the coding is done by payments personnel; train their colleagues to gain proficiency in coding payments for BOP purposes.

### Central bank foreign assets and liabilities; reserve assets
- Finding: Central bank’s foreign assets and liabilities are obtained from two aggregated items concerning the BCM’s assets and liabilities (net). BPM6 reserve assets components include: (i) monetary gold, (ii) currency and deposits, (iii) securities; (iv) special drawing rights, (v) reserve position in the IMF, and (vi) other claims.
- Action taken: BOP team contacted the department responsible for monetary statistics to obtain more detail concerning the balance sheet data to correctly identify central bank foreign assets and liabilities.
- Recommended measure:
  - The BOP Sub-Directorate works in close consultation with the Monetary Studies Sub-Directorate to identify the components of the central bank’s assets and liabilities, in accordance with the structure analyzed with the mission; in particular, a more detailed breakdown of the central bank’s accounts in the monetary statistics would be necessary.

### Commercial banks’ foreign assets and liabilities
- Finding: Commercial banks’ transactions for their own account are still not fully taken into account; currently identified in two lines: “Commercial banks (net)” and “of which: Assets and Liabilities”.
- Recommended measure:
  - Identify a more detailed structure of commercial banks assets and liabilities in the monetary statistics, following the example in Table A6.3 “Reconciliation of Other Depository Corporations’ Balance Sheet Items with International Investment Position (IIP) Components.”

### Government external assets and liabilities
- Key components to monitor for the government:
  - (i) “the oil account” opened with foreign banks (to collect revenue) – for foreign assets
  - (ii) the external debt
- Recommended measures:
  - Foreign assets: Ask the Investment Directorate to report amounts outstanding and income (including interest) related to investments of funds for the account of the government;
  - Foreign liabilities: Check the completeness of the amounts of disbursements tracked by the BCM against projections and other available information at the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Ask the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization for a list of enterprises involved in public infrastructure projects. Include those enterprises in the sample of direct investments (transactions and positions). Ensure reconciliation between the direct investment components reported by enterprises and the disbursements/reimbursements made by the government.

### Private nonbank sector external claims and liabilities
- Finding: Foreign exchange control limits international transactions by the nonbank sector; foreign claims and liabilities of the nonbank private sector are very poorly covered in the financial account. The debt position of the nonbank sector cannot be estimated in a context of nearly nonexistent data.
- Initial recommended measures:
  - Use BIS statistics as a source of information for estimating the foreign deposits of the nonbank private sector.
  - Conduct a foreign direct investment survey to support recording of all key BOP and IIP financial transactions.
- Recommended measures (restated):
  - Use BIS statistics as a source of information for estimating the foreign deposits of the private nonbank sector.
  - Compile a directory of direct investment companies as agreed during the mission and conduct a direct investment pilot survey for end-2016 positions.

### Direct Investment
- Finding: Direct investment appears in the BOP as an aggregated item: “Direct investment (net), of which: oil industries (net).” Data collection is based largely on bank settlements; this misses components such as reinvested earnings and there are no data on stocks.
- Mission recommendation:
  - Conduct an annual foreign direct investment survey; mission proposed a draft survey questionnaire (Annex 5).
  - Given limited BCM resources, first conduct a pilot survey of a selected number of enterprises to test the questionnaire, improve respondents’ understanding, promote the survey, and collect an initial series of direct investment transactions and positions to compare with existing sources.
- Recommended measures:
  - Conduct a direct investment pilot survey to estimate end-2016 positions and 2017 flows;
  - Compile a directory of direct investment companies as agreed during the mission and conduct a direct investment pilot survey for end-2016 positions.
- Suggested target population for annual survey (central bank to develop a directory of direct investment enterprises):
  - (i) major mining and oil companies,
  - (ii) fishing enterprises,
  - (iii) resident banks with foreign investment,
  - (iv) telecommunications companies,
  - (v) other types of companies identifiable at the Nouadhibou ”Guichet unique” (for free zones) and the “Guichet unique” of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

### Debt statistics (external public debt)
- Institutional context: BCM is responsible for debt service payments; donors notify the BCM of debt service payments owed, fifteen days before the due date (with the notable exception of the Islamic Development Bank, which follows a different procedure).
- Finding: Emphasis is on monitoring debt service based on notices from creditors. Estimation of disbursements is also based on data provided by donors concerning actual drawings rather than resident sources. Nonresident creditors often have the most complete disbursement records.
- Additional source: Directorate responsible for monitoring financial resources at the Ministry of Economy and Finance has a disbursements database obtained from disbursement requests. These two sources are used to compile debt statistics on the assumption that nearly 80 percent of all disbursement requests would be disbursed.
- Finding: A significant percentage of public external debt finances public construction projects lasting more than a year.
- Recommended measures:
  - Check the exhaustivity of the amounts of disbursements tracked by the BCM against projections and other available information at the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization of the Ministry of Economy and Finance;
  - Ask the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization for a list of long-term public projects, survey them; add transactions related to those projects to direct investment; ensure reconciliation between the direct investment components reported by enterprises and the disbursements/reimbursements made by the government.

### International Investment Position (IIP)
- Finding: Mauritania’s IIP could be compiled at the end of a cycle of preparation of the corresponding data sources once sufficient coverage of financial transactions and identification of sectoral components of stocks is achieved (central bank and banking sector are more easily surveyed).
- Key prerequisites:
  - Collection of appropriate data to identify financial assets and liabilities in sufficient detail, especially for the private sector and direct investment.
  - Monitor certain position data regularly (BIS statistics, foreign direct investment survey, government account, public debt monitoring).
- Priority action: Implementation of the foreign direct investment survey (covering flows and stocks) is key to improving the quality of the BOP and obtaining data on financial positions for the IIP.
- Additional need: Research work and closer cooperation with the BCM’s monetary statistics team to better use monetary statistics and data on reserve assets. Currently, highly aggregated monetary statistics are used to estimate net banking sector assets and liabilities and reserve assets.

### Officials met during the mission
- Boumedienne ould Mohamed Taya — Director General of Research/BCM
- Mamadou DEMBELE — Deputy Director in Charge of the Balance of Payments/DGE/BCM
- Aminetou Mint Mohamed YAHYA — Head of the Department Responsible for Recording Foreign Transaction Settlements DGE/BCM
- Mohamed ould Abdelkader — Head of the External Debt Department DGE/BCM
- Sarra M MOHAMED — Head of the Government Debt Section DGE/BCM
- Khattary OULD Mohamed BABA — Deputy Director/Settlements Directorate/BCM
- Mohamed Salem Ould Nani — Director of Resource Mobilization and the Coordination of External Assistance/Ministry of Economy and Finance
- Mohamed Sidi Mohamed — BCM Consultant

### Selected Balance of Payments figures (Millions USD)
- Trade balance: (487.9) 2012; (392.9) 2013; (710.9) 2014; (559.4) 2015; (499) 2016
- Exports: 2 641.0 2012; 2 651.5 2013; 1 935.4 2014; 1 388.6 2015; 1 401 2016
  - Iron ore: 1 130.7 2012; 1 358.1 2013; 730.7 2014; 340.0 2015; 418 2016
  - Oil: 271.2 2012; 216.9 2013; 194.8 2014; 73.1 2015; 87 2016
  - Copper: 238.0 2012; 216.3 2013; 165.8 2014; 195.1 2015; 138 2016
  - Gold: 445.2 2012; 471.8 2013; 407.4 2014; 333.6 2015; 289 2016
  - Fishery products: 479.0 2012; 329.7 2013; 377.5 2014; 388.9 2015; 421 2016
  - Other: 76.7 2012; 58.8 2013; 59.1 2014; 57.8 2015; 47 2016
- Imports, FOB: (3 128.8) 2012; (3 044.3) 2013; (2 646.3) 2014; (1 948.0) 2015; (1 900) 2016
  - Food products: (381.5) 2012; (377.0) 2013; (370.5) 2014; (395.3) 2015; (334) 2016
  - Petroleum products: (656.5) 2012; (633.8) 2013; (595.9) 2014; (337.9) 2015; (355) 2016
  - Of which SNIM: (110.4) 2012; (109.5) 2013; (102.0) 2014; (55.0) 2015; (37) 2016
  - MCM: (49.7) 2012; (46.1) 2013; (44.4) 2014; (28.0) 2015; (21) 2016
  - Tasiast: (111.9) 2012; (101.1) 2013; (4.1) 2014; (3.4) 2015; (0) 2016
  - Extractive industries: (1 625.2) 2012; (1 579.8) 2013; (1 018.8) 2014; (745.4) 2015; (466) 2016
    - Of which SNIM: (483.2) 2012; (489.3) 2013; (420.7) 2014; (199.4) 2015; (157) 2016
    - MCM: (160.4) 2012; (139.5) 2013; (186.7) 2014; (84.3) 2015; (80) 2016
    - Tasiast: (966.6) 2012; (590.3) 2013; (130.9) 2014; (187.1) 2015; (166) 2016
  - Oil exploration: (15.0) 2012; (360.7) 2013; (280.5) 2014; (274.7) 2015; (64) 2016
  - Other imports: (465.5) 2012; (453.7) 2013; (661.1) 2014; (469.4) 2015; (744) 2016
- Services and revenue (net): (1 048.9) 2012; (1 016.8) 2013; (873.5) 2014; (574.6) 2015; (452) 2016
  - Services (net): (858.3) 2012; (813.7) 2013; (620.7) 2014; (394.6) 2015; (336) 2016
    - Of which fishing licenses: 11.7 2012; 27.7 2013; 110.3 2014; 66.5 2015; 76 2016
  - Revenue (net): (190.6) 2012; (203.2) 2013; (252.8) 2014; (180.1) 2015; (117) 2016
    - Of which fishery compensation: 89.0 2012; 91.2 2013; 0.0 2014; 60.3 2015; 59 2016
- Current transfers (net): 310.7 2012; 140.8 2013; 113.7 2014; 178.4 2015; 245 2016
  - Private transfers (net): 42.7 2012; 56.9 2013; 49.8 2014; 77.3 2015; 75 2016
  - Official transfers: 268.0 2012; 83.9 2013; 63.9 2014; 101.0 2015; 170 2016
- Balance of Current Transactions: (1 226.1) 2012; (1 268.9) 2013; (1 470.7) 2014; (955.7) 2015; (707) 2016
- Capital and financial transactions account: 1 823.3 2012; 1 569.6 2013; 1 222.6 2014; 1 253.4 2015; 492 2016
  - Capital account: 40.7 2012; 4.8 2013; 16.0 2014; 31.2 2015; 8 2016
  - Financial transactions account: 1 782.5 2012; 1 564.8 2013; 1 206.6 2014; 1 222.2 2015; 483 2016
    - Direct investment (net): 1 386.1 2012; 1 126.0 2013; 501.9 2014; 501.7 2015; 271 2016
      - Of which: oil industries (net): 157.4 2012; 410.2 2013; 265.2 2014; 310.3 2015; 71 2016
    - Medium- and long-term official loans: 505.8 2012; 216.0 2013; 123.8 2014; 407.6 2015; 144 2016
      - Disbursements: 606.0 2012; 316.1 2013; 269.6 2014; 570.4 2015; 324 2016
        - Government: 259.4 2012; 176.4 2013; 256.8 2014; 570.4 2015; 322 2016
        - SNIM: 286.6 2012; 139.7 2013; 12.8 2014; - 2015; 3 2016
      - Principal outstanding: (100.2) 2012; (100.1) 2013; (145.8) 2014; (162.8) 2015; (180) 2016
    - Other private capital transactions: (109.3) 2012; 222.8 2013; 581.0 2014; 312.9 2015; 77 2016
- Errors and omissions: (108.5) 2012; (285.0) 2013; (61.3) 2014; (138.3) 2015; 135 2016
- Overall balance: 488.7 2012; 15.7 2013; (309.4) 2014; 159.4 2015; (80) 2016
- Financing: (488.7) 2012; (15.7) 2013; 309.4 2014; (159.4) 2015; 80 2016
  - Net foreign assets: (402.1) 2012; (26.7) 2013; 298.8 2014; (165.3) 2015; 80 2016
    - BCM (net): (473.6) 2012; (28.6) 2013; 312.1 2014; (197.3) 2015; (21) 2016
      - Assets: (457.7) 2012; (36.3) 2013; 326.1 2014; (182.1) 2015; (2) 2016
      - Liabilities: (15.8) 2012; 7.7 2013; (14.0) 2014; (15.2) 2015; (19) 2016
    - Commercial banks (net): 84.9 2012; 5.8 2013; (17.6) 2014; 15.7 2015; 77 2016
    - Oil accounts: (13.5) 2012; (3.9) 2013; 4.3 2014; 16.3 2015; 24 2016
    - Exceptional financing: (86.6) 2012; 11.0 2013; 10.6 2014; 5.9 2015; - 2016

*Source: cr18356 - Introduction (IMF STA mission report, March 19–30, 2018).*

### Introduction ____________________________________________________________________________________7

### Introduction

### Summary of mission outcomes and priority recommendations

- An IMF Statistics Department (STA) mission visited Nouakchott from March 19–30, 2018, to provide technical assistance (TA) in external sector statistics (ESS) to the Central Bank of Mauritania (BCM). The mission is part of an initiative financed by the Financial Sector Stability Fund (FSSF): Balance Sheet Approach (BSA) Sub-Module.
- Mission objectives:
  - (i) improve the compilation of the balance of payments (BOP);
  - (ii) propose a framework for compiling the international investment position (IIP).
- Key findings:
  - Need to improve the quality of most items in the BOP, particularly the financial account, to aid IIP compilation.
  - The BCM currently prepares and publishes the BOP in accordance with BPM5, using an analytical framework oriented to economic analyses rather than the BPM6 standard component presentation.
  - Primary data collection needs significant improvements in comprehensiveness and accuracy.
  - Nonbanking sector cross-border operations are very poorly represented in the BOP.
  - External debt statistics need quality improvements.
  - Current human resources assigned to ESS are insufficient: the BOP is produced by one statistician and a deputy director acting as a coordinator/statistician, who is in principle responsible for three divisions.
- Recommended next focuses to support IIP compilation:
  - Properly break down financial account indicators, beginning with better use of monetary statistics and splitting foreign assets and liabilities of the banking sector from those of the central bank.
  - Develop new data sources (such as a direct investment survey) to better cover the nonbanking sector.
  - Improve external debt statistics quality.
- Priority recommendation summary (selected items):
  - Strengthen the BOP team, ideally by adding new hires, rather than relocating staff from other BCM’s teams. — Target: December 2018 — Responsible: BCM
  - Adopt the BPM6 “standard format” model containing the standard BOP and IIP components in preparing the ESS. — Target: September 2018 — Responsible: BCM
  - Banking regulations:
    - Test and implement the classification developed by the BCM for use by commercial banks, with a view to improving accuracy regarding the type of transactions carried out by banks on behalf of their customers;
    - Add to the details collected by Swift codes identifying the nature of BOP transactions; ensure that the coding is done by the bank operators. — Target: September 2018 — Responsible: BCM

### Introduction and mission context

- STA mission dates: March 19–30, 2018.
- Mission focus:
  - (i) improving the system for compiling the BOP;
  - (ii) defining a statistical framework for IIP compilation consistent with the Mauritanian BOP system.
- Engagements:
  - Met with BCM focus team responsible for payments collection, BCM external debt team, and the Director of Resource Mobilization and Coordination of External Assistance of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
  - Met with the Governor of the BCM to discuss project optimization and the urgent necessity of strengthening ESS staff.

### Balance of Payments — compilation framework

- Structure of existing framework:
  - BOP system is based essentially on bank payments made by commercial banks for their own account and for customers’ accounts.
  - BCM devised a centralized reporting channel through the Banking Supervision Department to collect bank data.
  - A significant number of payments are made directly by the BCM: for its own account, on behalf of the government, and for state-owned enterprises (examples noted).
  - Complementary sources: customs data, monetary statistics, and external debt data (largely covering concessional or semi-concessional loans to the public sector).
- Improvements since 2016 TA:
  - Quality of export and import data has improved significantly; merchandise statistics now properly linked to customs data.
- Identified weaknesses:
  - BOP is compiled and disseminated in an analytical format; collection and production are more suitable for that aggregated accounting framework.
  - Current account operations are presented in aggregated format with a relatively limited classification of services and income.
  - Financial account lacks detailed breakdown by financial instrument, institutional sector, and maturity.
  - Reserve assets remain too aggregated.
  - Weak coverage of private nonbank sector foreign claims and liabilities.
  - IIP is not produced; data collection framework for IIP is not in place.
- Mission proposal:
  - Adopt the “standard format” model containing the BOP standard components correlated with IIP classification to facilitate identification and linkage between financial account and IIP components.
- Recommended measure:
  - Adopt the standard format model containing the BOP standard components, in correlation with the classification of the IIP components.

### Human resources

- Current staffing:
  - All ESS work is done by a single compiler at the central bank, coordinated by the Deputy Director of the BOP Sub-Directorate.
  - Since October 2016, the team lost one member who was reassigned; current coverage depends on two individuals plus the Deputy Director.
  - The Deputy Director is expected to retire, creating an urgent need to train at least one senior staff member.
- Recommended measure:
  - Strengthen the BOP team, ideally by adding new hires, rather than relocating staff from other BCM teams.

### Data sources and reporting practices

- Main data sources:
  - Statements of bank payments by commercial banks and the central bank.
  - Monetary survey of banks and the BCM (processed in an aggregated manner).
  - Government’s oil account.
  - Statement of public debt.
- Data processing practices:
  - Collected data are not re-processed or cross-checked with other sources (except for trade in goods).
  - BOP does not include staff estimations.
  - Reporting of international bank payments does not reliably identify and classify transactions with necessary detail; frequent contact with bank personnel is required to obtain explanations.
  - Coding is often based on empirical assumptions; BOP accounts are estimated in the aggregate without precise details.
- Classification and IT:
  - BCM prepared a draft classification (see Annex 2) for commercial banks to improve bank payment statements. The mission recommends immediate testing and rollout.
  - BCM prefers centralized, coordinated implementation of reporting changes.
- Specific recommendations on commercial credits:
  - Pay particular attention to correctly identifying denominations of commercial credits.
  - Group components of commercial credits as indicated in the structure proposed in Annex 3 (based on BPM6 Compilation Guide).

### Detailed technical assessment — Action plan (selected priority actions and target completion dates)

- High priority actions:
  - Adopt the “standard format” model containing the BOP and IIP standard components in preparing the ESS. — Target Completion Date: September 2018
  - Bank regulations: Test and implement the classification developed for use by commercial banks, with a view to improving accuracy regarding the type of transactions carried out by banks on behalf of their customers. — Target Completion Date: September 2018
  - Fine-tune the classification project. Pay particular attention to the denominations of commercial loans — ensure these flows are correctly identified, corresponding to the treatment recommended by the mission. — Target Completion Date: December 2018
  - Central bank regulations: Add to the details collected by Swift codes identifying the nature of BOP transactions; ensure that the coding is done by the bank operators; ensure that they are trained and that they are proficient in coding consistent with BOP needs. — Target Completion Date: September 2018
  - Identify a more detailed structure of commercial bank assets and liabilities in the monetary statistics; reconciliation of the items in the statement of assets and liabilities of other deposit institutions with the components of the IIP of the BPM6 Compilation Guide. — Target Completion Date: January 2019
  - Ask the Investment Directorate to report amounts outstanding and receipts (including interest) related to investments of funds for the account of the government. — Target Completion Date: July 2018
  - Ask the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization for a list of long-term public projects, with a view to examining and classifying them as direct investment; ensure reconciliation between direct investment components reported by enterprises and the disbursements/reimbursements made by the government. — Target Completion Date: July 2018
  - Use BIS statistics as a source of information for estimating the foreign deposits of the private nonbank sector. — Target Completion Date: July 2018
  - Compile a directory of direct investment companies (in particular, visit the “Guichet Unique” to obtain the list of enterprises to be surveyed). — Target Completion Date: July 2018
  - Implement the direct investment pilot survey for end-2016 positions. — Target Completion Date: September 2018
- Low priority action:
  - Identify the BOP/IIP components of the central bank’s assets and liabilities, using the more detailed breakdown of monetary statistics. — Target Completion Date: December 2018

*Source: cr18356 - Introduction (IMF STA mission report, March 19–30, 2018).*

### 28. The mission supports the BCM’s proposal of adding a field containing

### 28. The mission supports the BCM’s proposal of adding a field containing

### Balance of Payments (BOP) coding for payment orders
- Finding: The mission supports the BCM’s proposal of adding a field containing BOP-appropriate descriptions to the payment orders executed by Swift to permit real-time coding of operations at payment execution by staff responsible for payment orders.
- Implementation notes:
  - Use a classification of denominations similar to the one devised for bank payments.
  - The BOP team will ensure that their colleagues receive training in BOP coding.
- Recommended Measures:
  - Commercial bank payments:
    - BCM project focus team: Test and implement the classification developed for use by commercial banks with a view to improving accuracy regarding the type of transactions carried out by banks on behalf of their customers—high-priority recommendation;
    - BOP team: Fine-tune the classification in question and harmonize the treatment of commercial credits by adopting the treatment recommended by the mission.
  - Central bank payments:
    - BCM project focus team: Add fields to the details collected by Swift containing denominations/codes to permit identification of the nature of BOP transactions;
    - BOP team: Ensure that the coding is done by payments personnel; train their colleagues to gain proficiency in coding payments for BOP purposes.

### Central bank foreign assets and liabilities; reserve assets
- Finding: The central bank’s foreign assets and liabilities are obtained from two aggregated items concerning the BCM’s assets and liabilities (net). BPM6 reserve assets components include: (i) monetary gold, (ii) currency and deposits, (iii) securities; (iv) special drawing rights, (v) reserve position in the IMF, and (vi) other claims.
- Action taken: BOP team contacted the department responsible for monetary statistics to obtain more detail concerning the balance sheet data to correctly identify central bank foreign assets and liabilities.
- Recommended Measures:
  - The BOP Sub-Directorate works in close consultation with the Monetary Studies Sub-Directorate to identify the components of the central bank’s assets and liabilities, in accordance with the structure analyzed with the mission; in particular, a more detailed breakdown of the central bank’s accounts in the monetary statistics would be necessary;

### Commercial banks’ foreign assets and liabilities
- Finding: Commercial banks’ transactions for their own account are still not fully taken into account; currently identified in two lines: “Commercial banks (net)” and “of which: Assets and Liabilities”.
- Recommended Measures:
  - Identify a more detailed structure of commercial banks assets and liabilities in the monetary statistics, following the example in Table A6.3 “Reconciliation of Other Depository Corporations’ Balance Sheet Items with International Investment Position (IIP) Components.”

### Government external assets and liabilities
- Key components to monitor for the government:
  - (i) “the oil account” opened with foreign banks (to collect revenue) – for foreign assets
  - (ii) the external debt
- Recommended Measures:
  - Foreign assets: Ask the Investment Directorate to report amounts outstanding and income (including interest) related to investments of funds for the account of the government;
  - Foreign liabilities: Check the completeness of the amounts of disbursements tracked by the BCM against projections and other available information at the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Ask the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization for a list of enterprises involved in public infrastructure projects. Include those enterprises in the sample of direct investments (transactions and positions). Ensure reconciliation between the direct investment components reported by enterprises and the disbursements/reimbursements made by the government.

### Private nonbank sector external claims and liabilities
- Finding: Foreign exchange control limits international transactions by the nonbank sector; foreign claims and liabilities of the nonbank private sector are very poorly covered in the financial account. The debt position of the nonbank sector cannot be estimated in a context of nearly nonexistent data.
- Initial recommended measures:
  - Use BIS statistics as a source of information for estimating the foreign deposits of the nonbank private sector.
  - Conduct a foreign direct investment survey to support recording of all key BOP and IIP financial transactions.
- Recommended Measures (restated):
  - Use BIS statistics as a source of information for estimating the foreign deposits of the private nonbank sector.
  - Compile a directory of direct investment companies as agreed during the mission and conduct a direct investment pilot survey for end-2016 positions.

### Direct Investment
- Finding: Direct investment appears in the BOP as an aggregated item: “Direct investment (net), of which: oil industries (net).” Data collection is based largely on bank settlements; this misses components such as reinvested earnings and there are no data on stocks.
- Mission recommendation:
  - Conduct an annual foreign direct investment survey; mission proposed a draft survey questionnaire (Annex 5).
  - Given limited BCM resources, first conduct a pilot survey of a selected number of enterprises to test the questionnaire, improve respondents’ understanding, promote the survey, and collect an initial series of direct investment transactions and positions to compare with existing sources.
- Recommended Measures:
  - Conduct a direct investment pilot survey to estimate end-2016 positions and 2017 flows;
  - Compile a directory of direct investment companies as agreed during the mission and conduct a direct investment pilot survey for end-2016 positions.
- Suggested target population for annual survey (central bank to develop a directory of direct investment enterprises):
  - (i) major mining and oil companies,
  - (ii) fishing enterprises,
  - (iii) resident banks with foreign investment,
  - (iv) telecommunications companies,
  - (v) other types of companies identifiable at the Nouadhibou ”Guichet unique” (for free zones) and the “Guichet unique” of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

### Debt statistics (external public debt)
- Institutional context: BCM is responsible for debt service payments; donors notify the BCM of debt service payments owed, fifteen days before the due date (with the notable exception of the Islamic Development Bank, which follows a different procedure).
- Finding: Emphasis is on monitoring debt service based on notices from creditors. Estimation of disbursements is also based on data provided by donors concerning actual drawings rather than resident sources. Nonresident creditors often have the most complete disbursement records.
- Additional source: Directorate responsible for monitoring financial resources at the Ministry of Economy and Finance has a disbursements database obtained from disbursement requests. These two sources are used to compile debt statistics on the assumption that nearly 80 percent of all disbursement requests would be disbursed.
- Finding: A significant percentage of public external debt finances public construction projects lasting more than a year.
- Recommended Measures:
  - Check the exhaustivity of the amounts of disbursements tracked by the BCM against projections and other available information at the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization of the Ministry of Economy and Finance;
  - Ask the Directorate of Financial Resources Mobilization for a list of long-term public projects, survey them; add transactions related to those projects to direct investment; ensure reconciliation between the direct investment components reported by enterprises and the disbursements/reimbursements made by the government.

### International Investment Position (IIP)
- Finding: Mauritania’s IIP could be compiled at the end of a cycle of preparation of the corresponding data sources once sufficient coverage of financial transactions and identification of sectoral components of stocks is achieved (central bank and banking sector are more easily surveyed).
- Key prerequisites:
  - Collection of appropriate data to identify financial assets and liabilities in sufficient detail, especially for the private sector and direct investment.
  - Monitor certain position data regularly (BIS statistics, foreign direct investment survey, government account, public debt monitoring).
- Priority action: Implementation of the foreign direct investment survey (covering flows and stocks) is key to improving the quality of the BOP and obtaining data on financial positions for the IIP.
- Additional need: Research work and closer cooperation with the BCM’s monetary statistics team to better use monetary statistics and data on reserve assets. Currently, highly aggregated monetary statistics are used to estimate net banking sector assets and liabilities and reserve assets.

### Officials met during the mission
- Boumedienne ould Mohamed Taya — Director General of Research/BCM
- Mamadou DEMBELE — Deputy Director in Charge of the Balance of Payments/DGE/BCM
- Aminetou Mint Mohamed YAHYA — Head of the Department Responsible for Recording Foreign Transaction Settlements DGE/BCM
- Mohamed ould Abdelkader — Head of the External Debt Department DGE/BCM
- Sarra M MOHAMED — Head of the Government Debt Section DGE/BCM
- Khattary OULD Mohamed BABA — Deputy Director/Settlements Directorate/BCM
- Mohamed Salem Ould Nani — Director of Resource Mobilization and the Coordination of External Assistance/Ministry of Economy and Finance
- Mohamed Sidi Mohamed — BCM Consultant

### Annex I — Selected Balance of Payments figures (Millions USD)
- Trade balance: (487.9) 2012; (392.9) 2013; (710.9) 2014; (559.4) 2015; (499) 2016
- Exports: 2 641.0 2012; 2 651.5 2013; 1 935.4 2014; 1 388.6 2015; 1 401 2016
  - Iron ore: 1 130.7 2012; 1 358.1 2013; 730.7 2014; 340.0 2015; 418 2016
  - Oil: 271.2 2012; 216.9 2013; 194.8 2014; 73.1 2015; 87 2016
  - Copper: 238.0 2012; 216.3 2013; 165.8 2014; 195.1 2015; 138 2016
  - Gold: 445.2 2012; 471.8 2013; 407.4 2014; 333.6 2015; 289 2016
  - Fishery products: 479.0 2012; 329.7 2013; 377.5 2014; 388.9 2015; 421 2016
  - Other: 76.7 2012; 58.8 2013; 59.1 2014; 57.8 2015; 47 2016
- Imports, FOB: (3 128.8) 2012; (3 044.3) 2013; (2 646.3) 2014; (1 948.0) 2015; (1 900) 2016
  - Food products: (381.5) 2012; (377.0) 2013; (370.5) 2014; (395.3) 2015; (334) 2016
  - Petroleum products: (656.5) 2012; (633.8) 2013; (595.9) 2014; (337.9) 2015; (355) 2016
  - Of which SNIM: (110.4) 2012; (109.5) 2013; (102.0) 2014; (55.0) 2015; (37) 2016
  - MCM: (49.7) 2012; (46.1) 2013; (44.4) 2014; (28.0) 2015; (21) 2016
  - Tasiast: (111.9) 2012; (101.1) 2013; (4.1) 2014; (3.4) 2015; (0) 2016
  - Extractive industries: (1 625.2) 2012; (1 579.8) 2013; (1 018.8) 2014; (745.4) 2015; (466) 2016
    - Of which SNIM: (483.2) 2012; (489.3) 2013; (420.7) 2014; (199.4) 2015; (157) 2016
    - MCM: (160.4) 2012; (139.5) 2013; (186.7) 2014; (84.3) 2015; (80) 2016
    - Tasiast: (966.6) 2012; (590.3) 2013; (130.9) 2014; (187.1) 2015; (166) 2016
  - Oil exploration: (15.0) 2012; (360.7) 2013; (280.5) 2014; (274.7) 2015; (64) 2016
  - Other imports: (465.5) 2012; (453.7) 2013; (661.1) 2014; (469.4) 2015; (744) 2016
- Services and revenue (net): (1 048.9) 2012; (1 016.8) 2013; (873.5) 2014; (574.6) 2015; (452) 2016
  - Services (net): (858.3) 2012; (813.7) 2013; (620.7) 2014; (394.6) 2015; (336) 2016
    - Of which fishing licenses: 11.7 2012; 27.7 2013; 110.3 2014; 66.5 2015; 76 2016
  - Revenue (net): (190.6) 2012; (203.2) 2013; (252.8) 2014; (180.1) 2015; (117) 2016
    - Of which fishery compensation: 89.0 2012; 91.2 2013; 0.0 2014; 60.3 2015; 59 2016
- Current transfers (net): 310.7 2012; 140.8 2013; 113.7 2014; 178.4 2015; 245 2016
  - Private transfers (net): 42.7 2012; 56.9 2013; 49.8 2014; 77.3 2015; 75 2016
  - Official transfers: 268.0 2012; 83.9 2013; 63.9 2014; 101.0 2015; 170 2016
- Balance of Current Transactions: (1 226.1) 2012; (1 268.9) 2013; (1 470.7) 2014; (955.7) 2015; (707) 2016
- Capital and financial transactions account: 1 823.3 2012; 1 569.6 2013; 1 222.6 2014; 1 253.4 2015; 492 2016
  - Capital account: 40.7 2012; 4.8 2013; 16.0 2014; 31.2 2015; 8 2016
  - Financial transactions account: 1 782.5 2012; 1 564.8 2013; 1 206.6 2014; 1 222.2 2015; 483 2016
    - Direct investment (net): 1 386.1 2012; 1 126.0 2013; 501.9 2014; 501.7 2015; 271 2016
      - Of which: oil industries (net): 157.4 2012; 410.2 2013; 265.2 2014; 310.3 2015; 71 2016
    - Medium- and long-term official loans: 505.8 2012; 216.0 2013; 123.8 2014; 407.6 2015; 144 2016
      - Disbursements: 606.0 2012; 316.1 2013; 269.6 2014; 570.4 2015; 324 2016
        - Government: 259.4 2012; 176.4 2013; 256.8 2014; 570.4 2015; 322 2016
        - SNIM: 286.6 2012; 139.7 2013; 12.8 2014; - 2015; 3 2016
      - Principal outstanding: (100.2) 2012; (100.1) 2013; (145.8) 2014; (162.8) 2015; (180) 2016
    - Other private capital transactions: (109.3) 2012; 222.8 2013; 581.0 2014; 312.9 2015; 77 2016
- Errors and omissions: (108.5) 2012; (285.0) 2013; (61.3) 2014; (138.3) 2015; 135 2016
- Overall balance: 488.7 2012; 15.7 2013; (309.4) 2014; 159.4 2015; (80) 2016
- Financing: (488.7) 2012; (15.7) 2013; 309.4 2014; (159.4) 2015; 80 2016
  - Net foreign assets: (402.1) 2012; (26.7) 2013; 298.8 2014; (165.3) 2015; 80 2016
    - BCM (net): (473.6) 2012; (28.6) 2013; 312.1 2014; (197.3) 2015; (21) 2016
      - Assets: (457.7) 2012; (36.3) 2013; 326.1 2014; (182.1) 2015; (2) 2016
      - Liabilities: (15.8) 2012; 7.7 2013; (14.0) 2014; (15.2) 2015; (19) 2016
    - Commercial banks (net): 84.9 2012; 5.8 2013; (17.6) 2014; 15.7 2015; 77 2016
    - Oil accounts: (13.5) 2012; (3.9) 2013; 4.3 2014; 16.3 2015; 24 2016
    - Exceptional financing: (86.6) 2012; 11.0 2013; 10.6 2014; 5.9 2015; - 2016

*INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND*

### Annex II. Classification of Bank Receipts and Payments Made by

### Annex II. Classification of Bank Receipts and Payments Made by Commercial Banks for the Account of Their Resident Customers

### I. FOREIGN TRADE
- 110 — Merchandise exports and imports: Receipts or payments made in connection with merchandise exports or imports
- 120 — Advances in connection with foreign trade operations: Deferred income or advance payments related to merchandise exports or imports
- 140 — International business: Transfers and repatriations related to imports and exports made in the context of international business operations
- 150 — Commercial retrocessions: Retrocessions of payments related to commercial operations

### II. TRANSPORT SERVICES
- 200 — MARITIME FREIGHT: Receipts and expenditure related to maritime freight
- 210 — CONSIGNMENT: Receipts and expenditure related to consignment activities
- 215 — AIR FREIGHT: Receipts and expenditure related to air freight
- 220 — AIR PASSENGERS (airline tickets): Receipts and expenditure related to airline passenger transport
- 225 — PILGRIMAGE CHARTERING: Receipts and expenditure related to pilgrimage/oumra air chartering
- 230 — OTHER CHARTERING: Receipts and expenditure related to other chartering
- 240 — DHL AND OTHER MESSENGER SERVICES: Receipts and expenditure related to mail and messenger services

### III. TRAVEL
- 300 — MEDICAL CARE: Receipts and expenditure for health reasons
- 305 — EDUCATION: Receipts and expenditure for educational purposes
- 310 — PILGRIMAGE OR OUMRA ACCOMMODATIONS: Receipts and expenditure related to pilgrimage and oumra
- 315 — BUSINESS TRAVEL Other: Receipts and expenditure related to business travel
- 320 — TOURISM Other: Tourist income and expenditure
- 325 — GOVERNMENT MISSION: Payments related to public sector missions, training
- 330 — PRIVATE SECTOR MISSION: Payments related to private sector missions, training

### IV. INSURANCE
- 400 — MERCHANDISE INSURANCE PREMIUMS: Payments related to merchandise insurance (premiums)
- 405 — MERCHANDISE INSURANCE CLAIMS: Payments related to merchandise insurance (claims)
- 410 — DIRECT INSURANCE PREMIUMS: Payments related to insurance (premiums)
- 415 — DIRECT INSURANCE CLAIMS: Payments related to insurance (claims)
- 420 — REINSURANCE PREMIUMS: Payments related to reinsurance (premiums)
- 425 — REINSURANCE CLAIMS: Payments related to reinsurance (claims)
- 430 — OTHER INSURANCE PREMIUMS: Payments related to other insurance (premiums)
- 435 — OTHER INSURANCE CLAIMS: Payments related to other insurance (claims)

### V. TELECOMMUNICATIONS, I.T., AND INFORMATION SERVICES
- 500 — TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES: Payments related to telecommunications services: sound, image, and data transmission
- 505 — I.T. SERVICES: Payments related to I.T. services: computer hardware and software and data processing
- 510 — INFORMATION SERVICES: Payments related to information services: news agencies and other media

### VI. CONSTRUCTION SERVICES
- 600 — CONSTRUCTION ABROAD: Invoice payments related to foreign work projects
- 610 — DOMESTIC CONSTRUCTION: Invoice payments related to work projects in the reporting economy

### VII. FINANCIAL SERVICES
- 700 — FINANCIAL SERVICES: Commissions–financial services: financial intermediation and other

### VIII. OTHER SERVICES TO BUSINESSES
- 800 — PATENT LEASING, TRADEMARK USE, ETC.: Receipts or expenditure related to patent leasing and trademark use
- 810 — CONSULTANCY, MANAGEMENT SERVICES: Receipts or expenditure related to specialized consultancy, management services
- 820 — RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES: Receipts or expenditure related to research and development services
- 830 — TRADE-RELATED TECHNICAL SERVICES: Receipts or expenditure related to trade techniques and other services
- 840 — PRODUCTION OF FILMS, VIDEOS, RADIO AND TV BROADCASTING: Receipts or expenditure related to film production and radio and television broadcasting
- 850 — PERSONAL, CULTURAL, AND RECREATION SERVICES: Receipts or expenditure related to other personal, cultural, and recreation services
- 860 — REPAIR OF GOODS AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES: Payments for the repair of goods

### IX. SERVICES PROVIDED OR RECEIVED BY GOVERNMENTS N.E.I.
- 900 — MAURITANIAN EMBASSIES, CONSULATES, DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS: Receipts and expenditure for the benefit of embassies, diplomatic missions, international organizations, etc.
- 910 — FOREIGN EMBASSIES, CONSULATES, DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS: Receipts and expenditure for the benefit of embassies, diplomatic missions, international organizations, etc.

### X. INCOME
- 1000 — LABOR COMPENSATION: Labor compensation (wages, salaries)
- 1005 — DIVIDENDS OR OTHER DIRECT INVESTMENT INCOME: Distribution of profits from shares and other equity securities
- 1010 — INCOME ON GOVERNMENT LOANS: Interest related to government loans
- 1015 — INCOME ON BCM LOANS: Interest related to BCM loans
- 1020 — INCOME ON BANK AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTION LOANS: Interest related to bank and financial institution loans
- 1025 — INCOME ON OTHER SECTOR LOANS: Interest related to other loans
- 1030 — INCOME ON THE FNRH (NATIONAL HYDROCARBON REVENUE FUND): FNRH interest
- 1035 — PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT INCOME: Income related to portfolio investments
- 1040 — RESERVE ASSET INCOME: Interest on reserve assets
- 1045 — FINANCIAL COMPENSATION: Financial compensation
- 1050 — FISHERY LICENSES: Fishery licenses
- 1055 — OIL AND MINING ROYALTIES FROM OPERATING COMPANIES: Oil and mining royalties
- 1060 — OIL AND MINING ROYALTIES FROM PROSPECTING COMPANIES: Oil and mining royalties

### XI. TRANSFERS
- 1100 — GOVERNMENT GRANTS: Intergovernmental transfers (budget assistance and other government grants)
- 1105 — MEMBERSHIPS IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: Memberships in international organizations
- 1110 — GRANTS FROM INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: Grants from international organizations
- 1115 — GOVERNMENT FEES, TAXES, FINES: Miscellaneous government current transfers: fees, taxes, fines
- 1120 — FUNDS TRANSFER: Personal transfers (household to household)
- 1125 — MONEY TRANSFER COMPANIES: WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM, ETC.: Transfers (Western Union, MoneyGram, etc.,)
- 1130 — PENSIONS- RETIREMENT- CONTRIBUTIONS: Retirement pension payments
- 1135 — MAURITANIAN INCOME SAVINGS: Mauritanian wage savings
- 1140 — FOREIGN INCOME SAVINGS: Foreign wage savings
- 1145 — NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION (NGO): Grants received or provided by NGOs

### XII. CAPITAL ACCOUNT
- 1200 — ACQUISITION OF NONFINANCIAL NON-PRODUCED ASSETS: Acquisition, gross transfers of nonfinancial non-produced assets
- 1210 — PUBLIC INVESTMENT GRANTS: Public sector capital transfers
- 1220 — BEQUESTS, DONATIONS, DISASTER INSURANCE CLAIMS: Private sector capital transfer

### XIII. PORTFOLIO AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS
- 1300 — INWARD FDI IN THE BANKING SECTOR: Income related to nonresident direct investments in the banking system
- 1305 — INWARD FDI IN GOLD MINING COMPANIES: Income related to nonresident direct investments in gold mining
- 1310 — INWARD FDI IN GOLD PROSPECTING COMPANIES: Income related to nonresident direct investments in gold prospecting
- 1315 — INWARD FDI IN COPPER MINING COMPANIES: Income related to nonresident direct investments in copper mining
- 1320 — INWARD FDI IN COPPER PROSPECTING COMPANIES: Income related to nonresident direct investments in copper prospecting
- 1325 — INWARD FDI IN IRON ORE MINING COMPANIES: Income related to nonresident direct investments in iron ore mining
- 1330 — INWARD FDI IN IRON ORE PROSPECTING COMPANIES: Income related to nonresident direct investments in iron ore prospecting
- 1335 — INWARD FDI IN OIL COMPANIES: Income related to nonresident direct investments in oil companies
- 1340 — INWARD FDI IN OIL PROSPECTING COMPANIES: Income related to nonresident direct investments in oil prospecting
- 1345 — INWARD FDI IN OPERATING COMPANIES IN OTHER SECTORS: Income related to nonresident direct investments in operating companies in other sectors
- 1350 — INWARD FDI IN PROSPECTING COMPANIES IN OTHER SECTORS: Income related to nonresident direct investments in prospecting companies in other sectors
- 1355 — OUTWARD FDI IN THE BANKING SECTOR: Transfers related to resident direct investments abroad in the banking sector
- 1360 — OUTWARD FDI IN OTHER SECTORS: Transfers related to resident direct investments abroad in other sectors
- 1365 — GOVERNMENT PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT: Income and expenditure related to government portfolio investments
- 1370 — CENTRAL BANK PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT: Income and expenditure related to central bank portfolio investments
- 1375 — PORTFOLIO INVESTMENTS OF BANKS: Income and expenditure related to portfolio investments of banks
- 1380 — PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT OTHER SECTORS: Income and expenditure related to portfolio investments of other sectors

### XIV. LONG- AND MEDIUM-TERM BORROWING OR LENDING
- 1400 — IMF LENDING TO THE GOVERNMENT: Disbursement and repayment of long- or medium-term IMF credit and loans to the government
- 1410 — AMF LENDING TO THE GOVERNMENT: Disbursement and repayment of long- or medium-term AMF credit and loans to the government
- 1420 — BUDGET ASSISTANCE: Disbursement and repayment of long- or medium-term budget assistance to the government
- 1430 — GOVERNMENT PROJECT LOAN: Disbursement and repayment of long- or medium-term project loan to the government
- 1440 — IMF LENDING TO THE BCM: Disbursement and repayment of long- or medium-term IMF credit and loans to the central bank
- 1450 — AMF LENDING TO THE BCM: Disbursement and repayment of long- or medium-term AMF credit and loans to the central bank
- 1460 — OTHER LENDING TO THE BCM: Disbursement and repayment of other long- or medium-term credit and loans to the central bank
- 1470 — LENDING TO BANKS: Disbursement and repayment of other long- or medium-term credit and loans to banks
- 1480 — LENDING TO OTHER SECTORS: Disbursement and repayment of other long- or medium-term credits to other sectors

### XV. SHORT-TERM BORROWING OR LENDING
- 1500 — LENDING TO THE GOVERNMENT: Disbursement and repayment of short-term credit and project loans to the government
- 1510 — GOVERNMENT PROGRAM LOANS: Disbursement and repayment of short-term credit and program loans to the government
- 1520 — LENDING TO THE BCM: Disbursement and repayment of short-term loans to the central bank
- 1530 — LENDING TO BANKS: Disbursement and repayment of short-term loans to banks
- 1540 — LENDING TO OTHER SECTORS: Disbursement and repayment of short-term loans to other sectors

### XVI. COMMERCIAL CREDITS - ADVANCES
- 1600 — PUBLIC SECTOR: Government commercial credits and advances
- 1610 — BCM: BCM commercial credits and advances
- 1620 — BANKING SECTOR: Banking sector commercial credits and advances
- 1630 — OTHER SECTORS: Commercial credits and advances of other sectors
- 1640 — FNRH TRANSFER: Withdrawal from the FNRH account

*International Monetary Fund — Annex II. Classification of Bank Receipts and Payments Made by Commercial Banks for the Account of Their Resident Customers*

### Annex V. Foreign Direct Investment Survey Form

### Annex V. Foreign Direct Investment Survey Form

### Purpose, authority, confidentiality, and submission
- Data collection authority: the Regulations governing the statistics of Mauritania require a representative of the enterprise to which this form is sent to complete and return it to the Central Bank of Mauritania.
- Confidentiality: the Regulations governing the statistics of Mauritania guarantee the confidentiality of the information provided in this form.
- Purpose of collecting data: to collect reliable, up-to-date information on direct investments in Mauritania for compilation of BOP and IIP statistics on Mauritania’s foreign assets and liabilities. These statistics are published quarterly in Mauritanie: Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, obtainable from the Central Bank of Mauritania.
- Due date: after completing the form, please return it to us no later than DD/MM/YEAR.
- Submission: by postal mail (address) or email (bop@stat.com).
- Assistance: call (XXX) XXX-XXXX or email bop@stat.com for help completing the form.
- After completing the form, keep a copy for personal records.

### Contact and administrative details shown on the form
- Central Bank of Mauritania — Balance of Payments Sub-Directorate; Telephone (XXX) XXX-XXXX; Email address: bop@stat.com.
- Reference year: (field present).
- Person to contact if we have questions about this form: Name; Position; Telephone number: (    ) Regional code.
- Form includes administrative receipt/verification fields: Reçu, Modifié, Vérifié.
- Form contains example year notation: 2016 and acronym: BCM.
- Statistician for Mauritania (administrative header present).

### Instructions for completing the FDI Form
- The FDI Form is to be completed by the enterprise identified on page 1 of the form unless other arrangements are made with the Central Bank of Mauritania.
- Read the questionnaire before completing it and call (XXX) XXX-XXXX if there are difficulties.
- All amounts are to be expressed in thousands of UM.
- Conversion rules:
  - Financial transactions, dividends, interest, and tax withholding at source: convert at the median rate between the buying and selling rates in force on the date of the transaction.
  - Positions (end-year): express in thousands of UM; convert non-UM denominated assets and liabilities using the end-year exchange rate.
- Transactions should be recorded at their value on the date they take place. If in foreign currency, use the exchange rate in force on the day of the transaction or a weighted average rate for the reporting period if the transaction is continuous.
- For interest: enter the total amount of interest (payable or receivable) accrued in 2016, even if payments were made during the year.
- For dividends: enter the total amount of dividends received and receivable (and paid and payable) in 2016.

### Definitions and residency criteria
- Direct investor: a resident enterprise of an economy that holds, directly or indirectly, at least 10 percent of the capital of a nonresident direct investment enterprise.
- Direct investment enterprise: a resident enterprise of an economy in which at least 10 percent of the capital is held directly or indirectly by a resident enterprise of another economy.
- Residency:
  - A unit is considered a resident of Mauritania if it has resided (or intends to reside) for a year or more in Mauritania.
  - A unit is considered a nonresident of Mauritania if it has resided (or intends to reside) abroad for a year or more.
- Affiliated enterprise: field present (label only).

### Structure and applicability of the form
- The FDI form collects quarterly and annual data on direct investment in Mauritania and includes:
  - Part A: general information about your enterprise.
  - Part B: investments between your enterprise and its foreign direct investors (foreign enterprises holding at least 10 percent of the voting rights in your enterprise):
    - (1.1) equity,
    - (1.2) debt of the direct investment enterprise owed to investors (of the group),
    - (1.3) claims of the direct investment enterprise on nonresident enterprises (of the group).

### Valuation guidance and accounting adjustments
- Owners’ equity (net value) to be reported includes:
  1) paid-up capital (excluding all of the enterprise’s shares held by itself and including issue premium accounts) or the equivalent for unincorporated enterprises;
  2) reserves of all types identified as equity in the balance sheet (including investment grants when accounting rules permit their inclusion in owners’ equity);
  3) accumulated undistributed earnings (which may be negative);
  4) holding gains or losses.
- For reverse equity investments (claims of the resident on the nonresident investor), include components 1–3.
- To determine net value, most financial assets should be expressed at estimated current fair value; accumulated reinvested profits should be taken into account; and depreciation of real property, facilities, and equipment should be deducted. If regular accounting rules do not reflect these items, enterprises should adjust values before calculating amounts for sections B–E.
- Debt instruments:
  - Loans, commercial credits, and other accounts payable: enter nominal values (after taking into account any changes due to exchange rate variations). The nominal value represents funds advanced minus reimbursements plus all accrued interest outstanding.
  - Debt securities: enter the market value of the securities on the date of balance sheet preparation.

### Part A — General information fields (selected)
- 1.1 Name of your enterprise
- 1.2 Name/position of the person completing the questionnaire
- 1.3 Name/position of another contact person
- 1.4 Postal address
- 1.5 Telephone number
- 1.6 Fax number
- 1.7 Email address
- 1.8 If completed by a third party (e.g., accounting firm), provide name, postal and email addresses, and telephone number.
- 1.9 Certification: “I hereby certify that the information provided in this form is correct.” Signature (senior manager or representative) and Date.
- 1.10 Main area of activity (determined on the basis of turnover) — selectable categories:
  - A. Agriculture, forestry and fishing
  - B. Extractive industries
  - C. Manufacturing
  - D. Provision of electricity, gas, steam, and climatized air
  - E. Provision of water, sanitation, waste management, and roads
  - F. Construction
  - G. Wholesale and retail trade
  - H. Transport and storage
  - I. Hotels and restaurants
  - J. Information and communications
  - K1. Financial intermediation
  - K2. Finance and insurance, excluding financial intermediation
  - L. Real estate activities
  - M. Liberal, scientific, and technical professions
  - N. Administrative and support services
  - O. Government
  - P. Education
  - Q. Public health and social action
  - R. Artistic, recreational, and leisure activities
  - S. Other service activities
  - T. Household activities such as employers of domestic personnel; undifferentiated activities for the production of household goods and services for own use
  - U. Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies
- 1.11 Percentage of your enterprise’s capital held by its direct investor(s): table fields for Economy of the direct investor; Percentage held at the start of the period (1); Percentage held at the end of the period (2).

### Part B — Financial tables and required entries (selected fields and labels)
- 1.1 EQUITY AND PROFIT: OWNERS’ EQUITY (i.e., net value) — fields (amounts in UM; increases (+) decreases (‑)):
  - 1 Opening balance
  - 2 Cash purchase of equity securities
  - 3 In kind purchase of equity securities (capital goods)
  - 4 Net profit/loss for the period: profit (+)/losses (‑)
  - 5 Dividends paid XXXXXXXXXXXX
  - 6 Revaluation of assets, in foreign exchange
  - 7 Revaluation of assets, in domestic currency
  - 8 Other changes during the period (indicate type under heading)
  - 9 Closing balance
- 1.2 DEBT: BORROWING OF THE ENTERPRISE RECEIVING THE DIRECT INVESTMENT from the direct investor (or from a nonresident company in the same group) — fields:
  - 1 Opening balance
  - 1.1 ‑ Short‑term loan balance
  - Increases (+) Decreases (‑)
  - 2 (New) Drawings: XXXXXXXXXXXX
  - 2.1 ‑ short‑term XXXXXXXXXXXX
  - 3 Repayments (including debt forgiveness): XXXXXXXXXXXX
  - 3.1 ‑ short‑term XXXXXXXXXXXX
  - 4 Repayment by exchange of securities: XXXXXXXXXXXX
  - 4.1 ‑ repayment of short‑term loans XXXXXXXXXXXX
  - 5 Revaluations due to exchange rate variations:
  - 5.1 ‑ short‑term loans
  - 6 Other revaluations:
  - 6.1 ‑ short‑term loans
  - 7 Closing balance
  - 7.1 ‑ Closing balance: short‑term loans
  - 7.2 ‑ Commercial credits balance
  - 8 Interest owed the nonresident enterprise (for the period under review)
- 1.3 CLAIMS of the resident enterprise on NONRESIDENT enterprises (of the group) — shareholders, subsidiaries, affiliates:
  - 1 Opening balance
  - Increases (+) Decreases (‑)
  - 2 Credit granted during the period under review (all types of maturities) XXXXXXXXXXXX
  - 3 Debt recovery (all types of maturities): including debt forgiveness or recovery by exchange of equity securities XXXXXXXXXXXX
  - 4 Revaluations due to exchange rate variations
  - 5 Other opening balance adjustments
  - 6 Closing balance
  - 7 Interest owed by the nonresident enterprise (for the period under review)

_Annex V. Foreign Direct Investment Survey Form — International Monetary Fund / Islamic Republic of Mauritania_

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/cr/2018/cr18356.pdf_