IMF team to visit Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan, June 29, 2005 (PANA) — An IMF technical mission is expected
to visit Sudan in August to assess the country’s economic
performance following the end of more than two decades of
civil conflict in the south, official sources said here.

The team would evaluate Sudan’s economic performance ahead
of IMF Executive Directors meeting in September.

Amin Salih, IMF operations coordinator at Sudan’s Finance and
National Economy Ministry, said the delegation would review the
performance of different economic sectors, adding that an office
had been opened for the Fund’s resident representative in Khartoum.

“The Sudanese economy continued to grow in 2004, real GDP growth
(was) estimated to increase from six percent in 2003 to 7.3 percent
in 2004 owing to a strong performance in the oil, manufacturing
construction, power, and services sectors,” an IMF recent report
said.

It said improvement in productive capacity led to a 21-percent
expansion in oil sector’s GDP while inflation rose to 8.4 percent
in 2004 compared to 6.5 percent in 2003, reflecting loosening of
monetary policy in the first-half of 2004.

Current account deficit declined to an estimated 4.1 percent of
GDP in 2004 from five percent in 2003, reflecting a surge in
oil export receipts as well as strong recovery of non-oil export,
the report noted.

Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and private transfers, it said,
rose to 2.5 billion US dollars, more than one-third higher than
in 2003 with gross official reserves reaching 2.9 months of imports
at end-2004 compared with 1.5 months at end-2003.

Sudan has embarked on a number of policy and institutional reforms
in recent years aimed at sustaining economic growth, maintaining
macroeconomic stability, and meeting the challenges of the peace
agreement ending the war in the south.

The IMF commended the authorities for persevering with prudent
fiscal and monetary policies and wide-ranging structural reforms
in a difficult environment.

“These policies have translated into a favourable economic performance,
marked by a pick-up in foreign investment, a strengthening of the
external position, and single-digit inflation” the report stressed.

The IMF, however, called for increased transparency in Sudan’s oil
sector operations, saying this could be enhanced through the country’s
participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.