Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) approved today a three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit
Facility equivalent to
SDR197.4 million (about US$275.8 million or 150 percent of quota)
for Niger.
The Board’s decision allows an immediate disbursement of SDR 39.48
million (about US$55.2 million or 30 percent of quota)
. The arrangement is expected to catalyze additional bilateral and
multilateral financial support.
Following the Executive Board discussion, Ms. Antoinette Sayeh, Deputy
Managing Director and Acting Chair, made the following statement:
``The Nigerien economy is expected to rebound in 2021 with economic
activity gaining momentum in the medium term, with the start of oil exports
through a new pipeline to the Benin coast. This broadly favorable outlook
is, however, subject to significant downside risks related to heightened
security challenges in the Sahel region and Niger’s increased exposure to
the effects of climate change.
``The ECF arrangement supports the authorities’ reform agenda aimed at
strengthening the macroeconomic framework while creating fiscal space for
basic infrastructure and social spending to foster inclusive and resilient
growth.
To ensure medium-term debt sustainability and create space for social and
developmental spending, the program will support reforms to improve
domestic revenue mobilization (by broadening the tax base, reducing
exemptions, and revising the tax code), bolster the quality of public
spending (including by scaling up effective social programs and improving
public investment management), and ensure
transparent and efficient management of oil revenues. The program will also
support efforts to meet the regional fiscal deficit convergence criterion
and strengthen debt management.
``Promoting the development of a diversified private sector and
implementing reforms to strengthen governance and anti-corruption
frameworks will be pivotal to mitigate fiscal risks and strengthen the
business environment. In this context, implementing transparency
commitments related to pandemic emergency spending—including reporting and
publication of beneficial ownership information of companies awarded
pandemic-related contracts—is essential. The authorities also plan to
extend the requirement to collect and publish beneficial ownership
information to non-competitive procurement contracts and accelerate the
implementation of the new asset declaration regime.
``Firm commitment to reforms and their steadfast implementation will be key
to success and to catalyzing additional donor support.’’
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Table 1: Niger: Selected Economic and Financial
Indicators, 2018-22
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2018
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2019
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2020
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2021
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2022
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(Annual percentage change)
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National income and prices
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GDP at constant prices
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7.2
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5.9
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3.6
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5.4
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6.5
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Export volume
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-6.9
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-2.2
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-1.1
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-7.8
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8.4
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Import volume
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8.7
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9.7
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1.8
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3.9
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13.7
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CPI (annual average)
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2.8
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-2.5
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2.9
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2.9
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2.5
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CPI (end-of-period)
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1.6
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-2.3
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3.1
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3.0
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2.5
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Money and credit
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Broad money
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-2.1
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15.0
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17.0
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11.6
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14.9
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Domestic credit
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11.4
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-12.2
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25.2
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12.3
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17.9
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Credit to the government (net)
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127.8
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-89.5
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575.8
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45.3
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47.1
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Credit to the economy
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-4.5
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13.0
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8.6
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6.1
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10.4
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(Percent of GDP)
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Government finances
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Total revenue
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12.1
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11.2
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10.8
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10.9
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11.5
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Total expenditure and net lending
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21.1
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21.6
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22.9
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24.0
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22.7
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Current expenditure
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9.9
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9.6
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10.3
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10.9
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10.4
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Capital expenditure
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11.2
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12.0
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12.1
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12.6
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11.7
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Basic balance (excl. grants)
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-2.9
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-3.5
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-5.1
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-5.7
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-4.3
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Overall balance (incl. grants)
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-3.0
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-3.6
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-5.3
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-6.6
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-5.4
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Gross investment
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28.5
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30.0
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31.1
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31.8
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33.7
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Non-government investment
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18.4
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19.3
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20.5
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20.8
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23.5
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Government investment
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10.1
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10.6
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10.5
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11.0
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10.2
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External current account balance (incl.
grants)
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-12.7
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-12.6
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-13.5
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-15.3
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-16.3
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External current account balance (excl.
grants)
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-14.6
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-15.3
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-15.6
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-17.2
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-18.0
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Total public and publicly-guaranteed debt
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36.9
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39.8
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45.0
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48.8
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49.8
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Public and publicly-guaranteed external
debt
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25.3
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26.5
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31.6
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32.8
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32.2
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NPV of external debt
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23.1
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24.5
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24.2
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23.4
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23.0
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Public domestic debt
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11.6
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13.3
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13.4
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16.0
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17.6
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(Billions of CFA francs)
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GDP at current market prices
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7,134
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7,565
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7,909
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8,559
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9,301
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Sources: Nigerien authorities; and IMF
staff estimates and projections.
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