Islamic finance is a fast growing activity in world markets. This paper provides a survey on Islamic Finance in SSA. Ongoing activities include Islamic banking, sukuk issuances (to finance infrastructure projects), Takaful (insurance), and microfinance. While not yet significant in most...

Discussions at the 11th OECD-WBG-IMF Global Bond Market Forum focused on four key areas: i) the impact of crisis-related measures and the potential implications of exit; ii) the measurement of sovereign risk; iii) the determinants of investor demand; and iv) debt managers’ response to the...

An increasing number of central banks have started to explore central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Although CBDCs are developing rapidly and well defined, they are not always well understood. This paper helps clarify how CBDCs fit into the wide range of digital monies/digital payments,...

For nearly three decades, China has achieved an economic miracle. China's official GDP per capita increased almost tenfold, from about US$150 in 1978 to US$1,449 in 2005. China's growth measured by the purchasing power parity (PPP) has been even more impressive. The GDP per capita in terms of...

Despite relatively fast economic growth over the past few years, Cape Verde’s public debt to GDP ratio has risenrapidly. Achieving an appropriate balance among public investment, growth, and debt sustainability has become a priority for the Cape Verdean authorities. The IMF-World Bank...

Bond markets play an essential part in economies. As part of a diversified financial system, a well-developed domestic bond market can help provide the long-term financing needed for sustainable growth. It can also produce broad-ranging benefits throughout the economy. In South Asia the...

Dollarization-the use of foreign currencies as a medium of exchange, store of value, or unit of account-is a notable feature of financial development under macroeconomically fragile conditions. It has emerged as a key factor explaining vulnerabilities and currency crises, which have long been...

This Fintech Note reports key findings from the Sub-Saharan Africa Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and Digital Payments Survey, shedding light on the motivations, benefits, and challenges of CBDC adoption, as well as the developments of digital private money and crypto assets in sub-Saharan...

Tourism is an important driver of Dominica's economy. The damage of the pandemic on Dominica's tourism sector was severer than in most regional peers, and the recovery has also been much slower, mostly due to the timing of lockdown restrictions. This paper reviews the tourism sector landscape in...