## IMF Executive Board Completes the Sixth Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement for Guinea-Bissau and Approves US$7.3 Million Disbursement _IMF News, August 28, 2024_ ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [IMF Executive Board Completes the Sixth Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement for Guinea-Bissau and Approves US$7.3 Million Disbursement](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2024/08/28/pr25312-guinea-bissau-imf-exec-board-completes-6th-rev-ecf-arr-approves-us7m-disbursement) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2024/08/28/pr25312-guinea-bissau-imf-exec-board-completes-6th-rev-ecf-arr-approves-us7m-disbursement/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2024/08/28/pr25312-guinea-bissau-imf-exec-board-completes-6th-rev-ecf-arr-approves-us7m-disbursement/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2024/08/28/pr25312-guinea-bissau-imf-exec-board-completes-6th-rev-ecf-arr-approves-us7m-disbursement/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Published: August 28, 2024 --- ### Decision and disbursement - The Executive Board completed the sixth review under Guinea-Bissau’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement (three-year arrangement, approved on January 30, 2023). - Immediate disbursement: SDR5.44 million (about US$7.3 million) to help meet the country’s financing needs. - Total disbursement under the arrangement to date: SDR 24.88 million (about US$ 33.44 million). - The Executive Board granted an augmentation of access (140 percent of quota or SDR 39.76 million) on November 29, 2023. - The Board granted a waiver of nonobservance of: - the end-April 2024 quantitative performance criterion on the floor on social and priority spending; and - the continuous quantitative performance criterion on the ceiling on the accumulation of new external payment arrears. - The Executive Board completed the financing assurances review. ### Program performance and targets - Program performance in the sixth review: Seven out of nine Quantitative Performance Criteria (QPC) and both Indicative Targets were met for April 2024. - Missed targets: - QPC on external payment arrears missed due to technical arrears in external debt service. - Continuous structural benchmark (SB) on debt service missed due to technical arrears. - QPC on social priority spending missed due to delayed external project grants (expected to materialize in coming months). - Recommendation to avoid recurrence of external arrears: strictly adhere to the revised continuous SB which incorporates a corrective action. ### Macroeconomic outlook and risks - Economic growth projection for 2024: 5 percent. - Inflation projection for 2024: 4.2 percent (compared to 7.2 percent in 2023). - Current account deficit expected to narrow to 6.1 percent of GDP. - Authorities’ target: achieve the domestic primary deficit target of 1.2 percent of GDP in 2024 to put public debt on a firm downward trajectory. - Near-term risks highlighted: challenging socio-political climate, terms-of-trade shocks, high inflation persistence, and tightening of regional financial conditions raising borrowing costs. ### Structural reforms, fiscal policy, and governance recommendations - Continue ambitious structural reform agenda to: - improve domestic revenue mobilization; - strengthen expenditure controls; and - enhance governance, including transparency in public procurement and beneficial ownership information. - Fiscal consolidation measures emphasized: - strict rationalization of non-priority expenditure; - strengthen expenditure controls through the Technical Committee of Arbitration of Budgetary Expenditure (COTADO); - containment of wage bill spending; - focus revenue mobilization on reducing tax expenditures and strengthening revenue administration; - continue engaging donors for additional budget support and grants to finance social priority spending. - Financial sector and public enterprise recommendations: - take urgent actions to mitigate fiscal risks from the public utility company; - continue advancing the disengagement of the undercapitalized bank, including through contingency planning; - strengthen debt management procedures to avoid incurrence of technical arrears. - Anti-corruption and AML/CFT recommendations: - improve governance, especially transparency in public procurement and beneficial ownership information, as essential steps to improve anti-corruption and AML/CFT effectiveness. ### Key statistics and dates (verbatim) - SDR5.44 million - about US$7.3 million - SDR 24.88 million - about US$ 33.44 million - 140 percent of quota - SDR 39.76 million - January 30, 2023 - November 29, 2023 - April 2024 - 5 percent (growth in 2024) - 4.2 percent (inflation in 2024) - 7.2 percent (inflation in 2023) - 6.1 percent of GDP (current account deficit expected) - 1.2 percent of GDP (domestic primary deficit target in 2024) - Sixth review - Press Release No. 24/312 - August 28, 2024 *Source: IMF press release (Press Release No. 24/312).* --- ## References - [Guinea-Bissau and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/GNB/index.htm) - [Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/special-drawing-rights-sdr) - [Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews) - [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/) - [Extended Credit Facility](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2023/Extended-Credit-Facility-ECF) - [The three-year arrangement](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/02/07/pr2326-guinea-bissau-imf-executive-board-approves-ecf-arrangement-for-guinea-bissau) - [The Executive Board granted an augmentation of access](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/11/30/Pr23412GuineaBissauthirdreviewECF) - [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home) _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2024/08/28/pr25312-guinea-bissau-imf-exec-board-completes-6th-rev-ecf-arr-approves-us7m-disbursement_