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IMF: Authorities should improve public financial management

ZGM DAILY
2018-11-05 11:45 GMT+8

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced the completion of the fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and recommended Mongolia to further improve public financial management as Parliament is currently discussing the pre-election year budget. This enables Mongolia to draw 26.2088 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR) equivalent of about USD 36.22 million, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 157.2 million (about USD 217.33 million).

The fund highlighted, “The combination of strong policy implementation and a supportive external environment has helped the authorities meet all end-September 2018 quantitative targets under the program, with significant over-performance on fiscal targets. Progress has also been made on structural reforms, albeit with some delays.” Following the Executive Board’s discussion of the review, Mr.

Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Acting Chair and Deputy Managing Director, said, "The fiscal accounts have posted a primary surplus, reflecting both a sharp increase in revenues and continued expenditure restraint.

Meanwhile, past over-performance allowed the authorities to meet key reserve targets, despite a recent rise in balance of payments pressures. In the financial sector, the focus remains the follow-up to the Asset Quality Review (AQR). Select banks are in the process of booking the results of the AQR and subsequent on-site inspections.

They are also now raising the needed capital to address identified shortfalls by the end-December 2018 deadline. The Bank of Mongolia will remain focused on ensuring financial sector stability throughout the process.” On the down side, the IMF noted that Mongolia remains vulnerable to external and domestic shocks, failing to withstand the progresses.

The fund suggested that it is crucial to take advantage of the still favorable economic environment to further bolster fiscal and external buffers, strengthen the banking sector, and improve the investment climate. “In addition, the authorities should continue efforts to protect social spending, strengthen tax administration, and improve public financial management. A dedicated implementation of the authorities’ reform program is key to build resilience against shocks and ensure sustainable, inclusive growth,” remarked Mr. Mitsuhiro.

 

 

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