On June 20, 2018, the Executive Board approved the largest stand-by arrangement in the Fund's history, in support of Argentina's 2018-21 economic program. After an augmentation in October 2018, access under the arrangement amounted to USD 57 billion (1,227 percent of Argentina's IMF quota). The...

A nascent recovery is underway in Thailand following the COVID-19 downturn. Ample policy buffers, underpinned by judicious management of public finances, allowed the authorities to implement a multipronged package of fiscal, monetary, and financial policies to mitigate the COVID-19 impact on...

Among EU countries, Romania suffered a relatively shallow recession in the COVID-19 crisis, aided by macroeconomic easing. A strong recovery is projected in 2021. The new government is committed to balance continued pandemic-related support with the start of a medium-term fiscal consolidation...

The NBRB has made substantial progress in improving its forecasting and policy analysis system (FPAS) and integrating it into monetary policy decision-making. The FPAS, and the model-based forecasts and policy analysis, is now well integrated into the policy-making process. Staff are well...

In the Summer of 1998, the Executive Board discussed a set of three papers prepared by the staff that focused on the likey impact of EMU on selected non-EU countries. In recognition of the contribution these papers could make to the literature and discussion of EMU, the Board requested that this...

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Regime (HKSAR) is home to a fast-growing and highly international investment fund industry. The public investment fund industry authorized in HKSAR has grown rapidly from USD 628 billion in 2008 to USD 1.6 trillion in net asset value (NAV) in 2020. The...

Iraq is substantially exposed to fiscal risks related to guarantees issued by the State, with a stock of guarantees related to foreign currency service payments and debt of USD 21.7 billion at end-June 2017 and a stock of domestic guarantees that remains to be fully assessed. In 2017, the...