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At The Chang School, we offer expert academic and career advising to help support your goals.

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Our Academic Advisors can help you:

• Choose the course or program that’s right for you
• Target a program that can improve your chances of admission to a degree program
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All current learners have access to a career education specialist who can help you:

• Change or choose your career path
• Develop a job search strategy
• Improve your resumé, cover letter, networking and interview skills, or LinkedIn profile

Connect with our career education specialist:

Book an appointment

Career Transition Videos and Modules

If you're a current learner and would like access to career transition videos and modules on D2L, you can opt-in using the form below.

On D2L, you will be able to access:

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• online resources

These resources will provide information on how to make a career change, perform a job search, gain experience in your new field, make an informed career choice, and restructure your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile.

Fill out the D2L opt-in form

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Need help framing and achieving your academic goals?

If you want to find a new academic stream, gain new skills to give you a competitive edge, or are simply unsure of your continuing education options, our academic advisor can help.

You don’t need to be a current Chang School student! Our Academic Advisors can help point you in the right direction if you’re considering a Chang School course but you haven’t enrolled yet.

Connect with our Academic Advisors

Email us at  [email protected] Book a one-on-one appointment  

Career Education Specialist: Dena Marcos

Need career development support as a current student or alumnus?

If you’re currently enrolled in courses at The Chang School or are a member of our alumni family, our career education specialist can provide the resources and support you need. Whether you need help with your overall career-planning approach, feedback to improve your resumé or cover letter, or interview and networking skills, Dena can provide you with support to advance or change your career.

Connect with our Career Education Specialist, Dena Marcos:

Book an appointment with Dena

Check out Toronto Metropolitan’s Career and Co-op Centre calendar for other events you may wish to attend.

Locations: Career advising appointments can take place in room CED 208 on the second floor of The Chang School, 297 Victoria Street, or at the Toronto Metropolitan Career Centre , located in Podium, POD 60, 350 Victoria Street.

Winter 2020 Career Development Lunch and Learn Online Series

Navigate your career development alongside Dena Marcos, Career Education Specialist. This series will include interactive lunch and learn webinars and access to career development tools, templates, and resources.

All webinars will take place from 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Thursday, Februrary 27, 2020 Module #1: Self Assessment – Who Am I?

Not sure how to align your career path with who you are? You’re not alone. This module will walk you through the process of self-discovery for the purpose of career decision-making. You will learn how to:

• identify your strengths, skills, and values using a variety of tools and methods
• develop a transferable skills inventory

Thursday, March 5, 2020 Module #2: Labour Market Research – What’s Out There?

Making an informed career decision involves knowing what the trends are in your fields/sectors of interest. This module will show you how to conduct effective labour market research. You will learn how to:

• identify sources for online, field, and experiential research to support career decision-making and planning
• assess job postings to identify skills, knowledge, and aptitudes needed and determine gaps
• create a labour market research plan

Thursday, March 12, 2020 Module #3: Tailoring Your Resumé to Your New Career Goals

This module will demonstrate how to effectively market yourself for your new career by writing a concise, accomplishment-focused resumé that highlights your transferable and job-specific skills. You will learn how to:

• create a strategically structured resumé that displays relevant experience
• write impactful accomplishment statements that highlight transferable skills

Thursday, March 19, 2020 Module #4: Creating an Impactful LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for building connections and job searching. The module will show you how to make your LinkedIn profile stand out. You will learn how to:

• develop a complete LinkedIn profile that showcases skills, interests, and achievements
• craft a headline statement to articulate your personal brand
• write a summary that showcases your personality and professional background
• customize messages for connection and information interview requests

Session Time-Out

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The resources below provide information on writing resumes and cover letters for paper and online, and tips for applying and interviewing for jobs.  For more books on cover letters and resumes, search the catalog at the bottom of this page.

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• University Writing Center: Cover Letters Tips on how to write cover letters from TAMU's Writing Center
• University Writing Center: Resumes Tips on how to write resumes from TAMU's Writing Center
• Association of Former Students - Creating the Resume Inventory When creating your Resume Inventory focus on capturing the depth and breadth of your strengths, knowledge, skills, accomplishments and experience that could be of value to prospective employers. Details are important to create the most comprehensive inventory. Review each line and ask the question “So What?, to determine if you recounted the impact, the size, and the results of your accomplishments

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The Master’s University Office of Student Employment (OSE) exists to serve both students and on-campus employers in the on-campus employment process. The OSE ensures participants in the university’s student employment programs abide by all applicable federal and state employment laws and regulations, as well as institutional employment policies.

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The OSE specializes in assisting students write and effectively tailor their first resume and cover letter when applying for on-campus jobs at TMU. Contact the OSE to make an appointment.

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Student Employment Works (PDF)

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The mission of The Master’s University Office of Student Employment is to direct students to employment opportunities which will allow them to develop valuable workplace skills, and challenge them to define their character as they grow into young, Christian professionals who positively impact the world for Jesus Christ.

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AgriLife Today

Texas A&M AgriLife's digital magazine and newsroom

‘Buzzing’ with brilliance and dedication

Goldwater scholar lisa rollinson ’25 excels in entomology research.

September 5, 2024 - by Mamie Hertel

Picture the joy of finding something that instantly captivates you — now channel that same energy into the world of bugs.

That’s the level of enthusiasm Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences student Lisa Rollinson ’25 brings to her research in the Department of Entomology . She is one of two Texas A&M University students who received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship this year, a distinction earned by fewer than 500 out of over 1,300 nominees nationwide this year

The scholarship program was established by Congress in 1986. This scholarship is renowned for recognizing outstanding students in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering, marking them as future leaders and innovators in their fields.

Earning the Goldwater Scholarship was no small feat, and for Rollinson, it’s just one highlight in a resume filled with impressive research, leadership and internship experiences. Rollinson’s journey is a testament to her relentless pursuit of knowledge and her commitment to environmental sustainability through innovative research.

Scholarship and excellence within entomology

“Being a Goldwater Scholar is more than just an accolade; it’s about becoming part of a community of the nation’s brightest minds,” said Jeffery Tomberlin, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Entomology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Fellow and director for the National Science Foundation Center for Environmental Sustainability through Insect Farming.

Tomberlin said he has had the privilege of working with Rollinson for the past two years after she was recruited and mentored by Noah Lemke, a former doctoral student in Tomberlin’s lab.

The scholarship not only provides funding toward tuition, books, and room and board but also grants access to a network of alumni and researchers who are shaping the future of science and technology. It can open doors to prestigious internships and research opportunities, allowing scholars to advance their academic and professional careers.

In addition to the Goldwater Scholarship, Rollinson also received the prestigious Udall Undergraduate Scholarship , awarded for exceptional leadership and a strong commitment to environmental issues.

These recognitions reflect Rollinson’s dedication to research focused on environmental sustainability.

Research interests aligning entomology, environmental sustainability and innovation

Rollinson’s research centers on the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, an insect that has shown incredible potential for circular economy in sustainable agriculture. These flies are remarkable for their ability to convert organic waste into high-quality insect protein and compost. This makes them a valuable component to waste management systems and animal feed production.

However, managing black soldier flies can present challenges at times due to variability in egg production. Rates of fertile egg production can fluctuate; a variance that is possibly linked to differences in the size of the fly’s reproductive structures and its impact on mating success.

To investigate this issue, Rollinson designed an experiment that determined the size of body structures under different population densities.

“Precision was key,” she said. “I measured each structure multiple times to verify my accuracy.”

Her work provided valuable insights into how size-related factors might influence egg production, which could lead to improvements in breeding practices and enhance the role of black soldier flies in sustainable agriculture.

A prestigious internship at the Smithsonian

Last summer, Rollinson’s passion for entomology was further cemented during her internship at the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. This opportunity allowed her to collaborate and gain invaluable hands-on experience alongside some of the world’s top entomologists.

While at the Smithsonian, Rollinson identified and catalogued insect specimens, which deepened her understanding of the intricacies of entomological research and conservation.

One of her most exciting achievements was discovering a new species of bee fly. She also played a crucial role in clarifying the classification of two genera by carefully examining over 300 specimens to establish their synonymy.

Additionally, Rollinson redescribed seven different species of bee flies by adjusting the criteria used to identify them and created a simplified guide to help others identify these species, complete with photographs to aid in the process.

“I had the chance to work on a project I really enjoyed,” she said. “It was an incredible experience to be part of an institution dedicated to studying insect biodiversity on a global scale.”

Dedication and applications

As a recipient of two prestigious scholarships, Rollinson serves as a powerful example for students aspiring to research careers.

“Applying for competitive scholarships and research opportunities can be really daunting, but it’s worth it,” she said. “Even if you don’t win right away, the process helps you grow and gain valuable experience.”

Rollinson was not nominated for the Goldwater Scholarship on her first try. But she remained determined and, with the support of her mentors, ultimately succeeded.

“I’m deeply grateful for the guidance from my professors and the Department of Entomology,” she said. “Their support has been crucial to my achievements.”

Looking ahead, Rollinson is excited to continue her research and explore its potential to address global challenges.

“I want to investigate how insect-based solutions can help tackle issues like food insecurity, environmental sustainability and more,” she said. “Insects offer innovative solutions to some of the most pressing problems we face today.”

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Feds issue draft approval to resume mining at Idaho’s historical Stibnite Gold Mine

The U.S. Forest Service issued a draft record of decision Friday authorizing a gold mining company to resume operations at Stibnite Mine in Central Idaho’s Payette National Forest, a proposal that would become one of the largest gold, silver and antimony mines in the United States.

Friday’s draft record of decision begins a 45-day objection period where the public can comment on the draft record of decision and a 45-day resolution period. After that, the U.S. Forest Service can issue a final record of decision, which supporters of the project said could happen before the end of the year. Information about commenting and filing objections is available on the U.S. Forest Service website.

The decision involves the Stibnite Gold Mine, which is located outside the tiny town of Yellow Pine in Valley County, about 45 miles from Cascade and 100 miles from Boise. The mine is located just outside the boundary of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, which wildlife biologists and conservationists say is an important habitat for a variety of wildlife species including salmon, bears, wolves, wolverines, elk, eagles and other animals.

Plan would allow for gold, silver and antimony mining on about 3,200 acres

The plan the U.S. Forest Service selected will disturb or re-disturb about 3,200 acres of land by creating or expanding three open pit mines, an area for processing ore, a facility to store mine tailings, buttress, an employee housing facility, an access road, a transmission line and a road maintenance facility, according to the draft record of decision.

The plan has several phases, including three years of construction, 15 years of mining and ore processing operations, for a total of 17 years of surface and underground exploration.

“The Stibnite Gold Project would create one of the largest gold, silver and antimony mines in the United States,” officials with the U.S. Forest Service said in a press release announcing the draft record of decision.

Officials with Perpetua Resources, formerly Midas Gold, are seeking approval to resume mining at Stibnite Gold Mine. In a statement released Thursday, officials with Perpetua Resources said they plan to mine for gold and unlock the United States’ only reserve of a mineral called antimony, all while cleaning up historic mine waste. Perpetua Resources says antimony can be used to develop liquid metal batteries and ammunition.

“We believe that the Stibnite Gold Project is a win-win-win,” said Jon Cherry, president and CEO of Perpetua Resources in a written statement. “It’s a win for Idaho, it’s a win for the environment, and it’s a win for America’s national security. Our independence from Chinese control over antimony is right here in our backyard, and Perpetua Resources is honored to provide a critical part of the solution to the United States’ strategic need for antimony, while also delivering an economically robust gold mine that will create new jobs in Idaho. It’s time for the Stibnite Gold Project to help secure our future.”

Conservation organizations, tribes remain concerned about pollution from the mining project

But conservationists and members of the Nez Perce Tribe have voiced concerns for years about the proposal. A coalition of organizations including Save the South Fork Salmon, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Advocates for the West, American Rivers and Earthworks issued a statement Friday expressing concern that the pollution from the mine could harm threatened fish in the Salmon River watershed. They also warned the mine and mining activities would permanently scar thousands of acres of public lands in the Salmon River Mountains, violate treaties signed with Native American tribes and jeopardize clean water.

“The Stibnite Gold Project risks irreversible harm to one of the nation’s most cherished and ecologically important river ecosystems,” said Zack Waterman, Northern Rockies conservation director for American Rivers.

Conservation groups said the plan doubles the size of the disturbed area and allows the Yellow Pine Pit to extend 700 feet below the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River, which would require the river to be rerouted through concrete tunnels while mining takes place.

“The plan still involves excavating three massive open pits, punching in a road through three roadless areas along the boundary of the Frank Church River of Return Wilderness, and filling Meadow Creek with toxic mine waste,” John Robison of the Idaho Conservation League said in a written statement.

Area creeks and rivers are polluted due to nearly 100 years worth of mining near Idaho’s Stibnite Gold Mine

Mining began near Stibnite in 1899 with the Thunder Mountain Gold Rush and ramped up through the 1930s and 1940s, when antimony and metals mined at Stibnite contributed to the World War II effort, according to Forest Service records and Perpetua Resources. All mining operations stopped by 1992, according to Forest Service documents. A lot of the mining equipment was abandoned, and much of it remains in the forest today. The East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River flows into an abandoned open pit mine, and rivers and creeks in and around the mine site are polluted with arsenic and sediment, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported, following a 2022 tour of the mine site.

Perpetua Resources is proposing to resume mining operations and says it will clean up some of the legacy waste as it conducts mining operations. Perpetua also plans to backfill a mine pit, reclaim the area and rebuild sections of the river and restore 450 acres of wetlands. Some of the projects would take place while mining is underway and other projects would take place after mining ends.

I didn’t think I would ever need WA Cares: I was wrong

I never thought I would need someone to care for me.

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1. The authorities’ have implemented difficult reforms on a number of different fronts in a very challenging socio-political environment. Over the course of a year, the authorities fully eliminated fuel subsidies, started to phase out electricity, water, and gas subsidies, expanded the VAT base, and took measures to contain the public wage bill (including halting salary payments to unregistered workers and freezing hiring).

1. The authorities’ have implemented difficult reforms on a number of different fronts in a very challenging socio-political environment . Over the course of a year, the authorities fully eliminated fuel subsidies, started to phase out electricity, water, and gas subsidies, expanded the VAT base, and took measures to contain the public wage bill (including halting salary payments to unregistered workers and freezing hiring).

2. Economic outcomes are steadily improving .

Growth is estimated at 2.1 percent in 2023 with a rebound in the second half of the year (led by agriculture, transportation, construction, and hospitality-related sectors), returning to around 3 percent in 2024. Nonetheless, it is expected to take several years for real activity to return to its pre-pandemic level.

Headline inflation has fallen to 21 percent yoy in April, averaging an annualized 17 percent m/m over the past 6 months. The fall in inflation has occurred despite the scaling back of subsidies. Inflation is expected to continue falling to 14 percent y/y by end-2024.

The 2023 external sector position is moderately stronger than the level implied by medium term fundamentals and desirable policies. The current account gap is estimated at 1.7 percent of GDP (Annex II).

Usable international reserves now stand at close to 6 months of imports (123 percent of the ARA metric).

Efforts to improve financial oversight have improved bank soundness. Nonetheless, important vulnerabilities remain.

3. Spreads have fallen to the lowest levels on record, marking significant progress towards restoring market access . Debt restructuring agreements have been agreed with all official and most commercial creditors and the authorities are in active negotiations with the remaining commercial creditors (which make up 4 percent of external debt), offering the same terms as agreed with other creditors.

Spread History

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2024, 254; 10.5089/9798400285738.002.A001

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Suriname: Real Sector Developments

4. There are important downside risks to the near-term outlook . Policy implementation challenges are the foremost risk, particularly if social and political pressures in the run-up to the election undermine the authorities’ ability to implement their reform plan. Ongoing efforts to increase spending on social protection programs, improve governance and tackle corruption, as well as increases in public sector wages should help mitigate this risk. The materialization of credit losses in the banks could create deposit outflows and trigger financial instability. Finally, weak capacity poses a generalized risk to policy execution. The main external risk arises from a worsening in the terms of trade (notably from materially higher oil prices and/or lower gold prices).

5. Over the medium term there are significant upside risks . A final investment decision on the development of large new oil fields is expected by end of this year, with production scheduled to begin in 2028. These investments would boost growth and employment, raise living standards, increase export and fiscal revenues, strengthen the balance of payments, and improve debt dynamics (see Box 1 in the staff report for the fifth review). However, caution is warranted to prevent misallocation of these natural resource proceeds and/or Dutch Disease-type dynamics.

Suriname: Real GDP and GDP Growth 1/

• Program Performance

6. The authorities have missed quantitative fiscal and monetary targets but have taken appropriate corrective actions . The end-March 2024 PCs on the ceiling on the central government mineral revenue in local currency, all continuous PCs, and the new IT on VAT refund arrears were met. PCs on the central government fiscal balance, NIR, and NDA of the central bank and the IT on social assistance spending were breached.

The fiscal balance PC (measured below-the-line) was missed by SRD 1.7 billion (SRD 28 million versus an adjusted target of SRD 1755 million), or 1 percent of 2024 GDP, mainly due to the underperformance of the tax revenues (SRD 510 million) and overspending on electricity subsidies (SRD 710 million). 1 Notably, revenues from VAT and customs duty underperformed by SRD 400 million. There was also some overspending on goods and services (by SRD 60 million).

The authorities request a waiver for non-observance of the fiscal PC based on the actions taken to cap transfers to the electricity company and correct the previous overpayment over the course of the remainder of this year. The authorities are also implementing stricter enforcement of VAT compliance (MEFP II 8), stopped salary payments to unregistered civil servants. Fiscal targets for end-June and end-September are proposed to be recalibrated but the end-December target is unchanged ( Table 12 ). Should these measures prove insufficient to achieve the needed savings as the year progresses, the authorities stand ready to curtail non-priority capital expenditure.

The PC on the NIR floor was missed by a small margin (of USD 2.6 million) as the MoFP’s clearance of foreign currency arrears to suppliers was not properly captured in the CBvS’ FX cashflow projections. The ceiling on the NDA of the CBvS was also missed due to larger than projected withdrawals of government deposits for clearing domestic and foreign currency supplier arrears. The authorities request waivers for non-observance of the NIR and NDA PCs on the grounds that corrective actions to improve timeliness and quality of information sharing between MoFP and CBvS have been taken. Monetary targets are proposed to be recalibrated for the remainder of this year based on updates to the macroeconomic framework.

7. Institutional reforms are moving ahead with most pending structural benchmarks (SBs) now implemented ( Table 13 ) . The end-June SB requiring all line ministries to report the stock of arrears to the MoFP monthly was met ahead of schedule. The continuous SB on publishing the quarterly budget execution report and the end-April SB to issue a resolution that clarifies the government will not be responsible for contracts agreed with line ministries that have no prior authorization from the MOF were both met. Five SBs were implemented with delay: (i) setting common equity tier one (CET1) and capital adequacy ratio (CAR) targets for banks with capital shortages (with corresponding corrective measures the CBvS would escalate if the CET1/CAR targets are breached); (ii) issuing a state decree to provide the Minister of Finance the authority to access all bank accounts held by government entities at commercial banks; (iii) submitting a legislative amendment to the Foreign Exchange Regulation of 1947 to rectify any misalignment with the Central Bank Act; (iv) reviewing the social protection expenditures and publishing a time-bound strategic plan to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of social benefits; and (v) fully repaying all the domestic debt arrears. Two SBs are expected to be implemented in the coming weeks: (i) launching the FX trading platform, and (ii) enacting the new Procurement Law to centralize and mandate the publication of all public procurement tenders and contract awards. The continuous SB to introduce quarterly expenditure ceilings for line ministries has been delayed, as the authorities need FAD CD to implement it properly. Similarly, the end-April SB to develop a time-bound plan for the recapitalization of the CBvS has been delayed as staff comments on the draft plan are being incorporated. All in all, good progress continues to be made on a range of structural reforms, but the authorities’ ambitious timeline continues to be hampered by a range of capacity constraints.

Suriname: Summary of Program Performance

Policy Discussions

• A. Improving Fiscal Sustainability While Supporting the Vulnerable

8. Despite fiscal slippages in the first quarter of 2024, the authorities remain committed to the 2024 budget target of a primary central government surplus of 2.7 percent of GDP :

Wage bill . The authorities will maintain the wage bill at 6.7 percent of GDP in 2024. The authorities are expediting the removal of unregistered workers and chronically absent civil servants from public payrolls. 2

VAT . 60 percent of the consumption basket is already taxed at the standard 10 percent rate. A new 5 percent rate will be introduced on water, electricity and cooking gas in June 2024. Over 4,200 companies were registered for VAT at end-April 2024 and refund arrears are gradually being cleared. Efforts are being made to improve compliance through the imposition of late penalties and interest. 3 The authorities are fast-tracking refunds for compliant taxpayers by setting up a “gold list” of top taxpayers that have filed accurately and on-time. To facilitate sharing and the cross-matching of data to identify unregistered taxpayers and underreporting, the use of fiscal identification numbers will be made mandatory for all importers and exporters by end-June.

Taxes on fuel . Fuel prices are now determined by an automatic pricing mechanism based on international prices and specific taxes on fuel have been reimposed (generating 0.8 percent of GDP in additional revenues in 2024).

Increase in non-tax revenues . The government increased the leasing fees for government land and started allowing the purchase of government land under lease. The government has also decided to increase rates for air navigation services (that had remained unchanged for more than 10 years). These measures are estimated to bring 0.6 percent of GDP in revenues in 2024.

Electricity subsidies . Average electricity tariffs were increased by 36 percent in 2023 and by 38 percent in March 2024 (reflected in April bills). Electricity tariffs for commercial users are set to reach cost recovery in June. Further 7 percent hikes are planned for households in May, July, September, and November 2024. The exact tariff schedule will take into account the cost of electricity production, including the exchange rate and the cost of fuel. Low- and middle-income households (proxied by electricity consumption) will continue benefitting from temporary discounts on their energy bills to cushion the effect of tariff increases, while the authorities work to address bottlenecks to a more effective cash transfer program.

Liquified petroleum gas subsidies . Cumulatively, LPG prices have been increased by 27 percent by June with the subsidy to be fully eliminated by September 2025.

Cash transfers . Cash transfers were increased by 0.3 percent of GDP in 2023 and a further bonus was paid in January. Despite a strong start in administering cash transfers in January and February, the government fell short of the end-March IT due to payment delays by the MoFP. 4 The government has developed, with the help of ILO and IDB, a time-bound strategic plan to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of social benefits and continues to publish a monthly report on the number of households or individuals covered by each social program in each district and the average value of cash transfers they receive.

Capital spending . Capital expenditure will increase to 3.5 percent of GDP in 2024 with climate resilience considerations integrated into the appraisal and selection of capital projects. 5 The Surinamese and Guyanese authorities are discussing an investment in a new bridge to connect the two countries (Suriname’s share of the cost would amount to 3.5 percent of GDP). The project is at a preliminary evaluation stage and any resulting expenditures are expected to be accommodated within the authorities’ existing medium-term budget envelope. Staff cautioned the Surinamese authorities about the potential fiscal risks involved in such a large-scale infrastructure project, particularly given limited fiscal space.

Suriname: Contributions to Fiscal Adjustment

(Percent of GDP)

9. Gross financing needs are manageable and public debt is on a firmly declining trajectory . Gross financing needs are elevated in 2024 due to the clearance of past arrears (see Annex I) but are still within the limits in the program 6 . Public debt is expected to fall below 70 percent by 2028 and Suriname’s debt is judged to be sustainable on a forward-looking basis (Annex I).

Suriname: Gross Financing Needs and Public Debt

10. To further strengthen fiscal institutions, the authorities are working to :

Improve the recording, reporting, and payment of external and domestic public debt, with a particular focus on ensuring timely domestic debt payments; and build capacity of the debt management office, supported by Fund CD;

Strengthen the quality and consistency of the quarterly budget execution reports ;

Ensure the Minister of Finance has the authority to access all banks accounts held by government entities at commercial banks;

Establish a treasury single account for a subset of line ministries (end-Jan 2025 SB) .

Implement the procurement law;

Publish a report quantifying the principal fiscal risks faced by the largest state-owned enterprises.

11. The clearance of domestic debt arrears is underway (Annex I) . Legacy debts to the CBvS have been restructured into a new loan, advances from the CBvS to the central government have been repaid, and all domestic debt arrears had been cleared. Other accounts payable, mostly to suppliers, totaled SRD 7.3 billion (4 percent of GDP) in March, while the stock of VAT refund arrears stood at roughly SRD 790 million (0.5 percent of GDP). The authorities are committed to process all VAT refund arrears by end-2024 and gradually clearing all other accounts payable by end-2027. To prevent the further accumulation of supplier arrears, the Budget Department, with the help of IMF TA, is setting quarterly ceilings on expenditure commitments ceilings by line ministry. A resolution has been issued to require line ministries to receive prior authorization from the Ministry of Finance before signing contracts. The resolution also clarifies that the government will not be held responsible for contracts agreed with line ministries without such authorization. In addition, line ministries will begin monthly reporting to the Ministry of Finance on their stock of arrears.

Stock of Domestic Debt Arrears 1/

(In SRD millions)

• B. Bringing Down Inflation

12. Inflation is falling as a result of restrictive macroeconomic policies . The CBvS has continued to target a decline in the monetary base in real terms by undertaking open market operations to keep growth rate below that of nominal GDP, consistent with inflation target. Private sector credit growth collectively in FX and SRDs has slowed to 6 percent yoy as limits on domestic currency liquidity have become binding. However, a more uniform distribution of liquidity among banks from an improved interbank activity, accompanied by better liquidity management practices, and better forecasting of liquidity—including the schedule for repayment of domestic currency arrears by the government—is needed to more effectively meet the central bank’s monetary targets. Monetary targets have been recalibrated to maintain the tight monetary policy stance while taking into account anticipated disinflationary trends.

13. There is little activity in the interbank market leading some banks to maintain large precautionary buffers . 7 In response to tighter liquidity conditions, deposit rates are gradually rising but the adjustment is slow, and rates remain negative in ex post real terms. Banks prefer to gradually raise loan rates due to credit quality concerns. Allowing banks’ Term Deposits held at the central bank to be used as a collateral for CBvS liquidity facilities (with appropriate haircuts) could increase the willingness of banks to invest in central bank paper and scale back their precautionary buffers. The existence of the two separate systems for holding reserves at the CBvS should be reviewed and simplified, in line with the recommendations of the most recent liquidity management CD. The clearance of domestic arrears will help restore domestic market access and support the development of domestic debt markets. Gradually moving some government SRD deposits to the CBvS, as a first step in implementation of TSA, would also help facilitate the CBvS’s liquidity management operations.

Suriname: Recent Monetary Policy Developments

14. Electronic FX trading is expected to be launched in June, helping improve market transparency, liquidity and price discovery . The CBvS is working to strengthen its FX reserves management and operations, drawing on Fund CD. The SB on amendments to the Foreign Exchange Regulation—to ensure it is consistent with the new Central Bank Act—has been implemented delay. 8

Suriname: Recent Foreign Exchange and International Reserve Developments

Suriname: FX Cash Flow Projections

(Millions of USD)

• C. Addressing Banking Sector Risks

15. The CBvS should continue to carefully monitor the significant vulnerabilities in the banking system . Nonperforming loans (NPLs) are falling (10.4 percent of loans at end-March 2024) along with the reduction in loan loss provisions (LLPs) 9 . The authorities should maintain robust provisioning services given that NPLs still remain high. The banking system remains liquid with liquid assets comprising 54.2 percent of total assets although liquidity is skewed toward the two systemic banks. Retail depositors have been switching FX deposits to invest in CBCs.

16. Timely completion of bank recapitalization plans is essential to preserve the stability in the banking system . The reported level of capital adequacy ratio for the banking system is 21.6 percent as of March 2024. In line with the post-AQR roadmap, banks with capital shortages (accounting for 5.4 percent of the total banking sector assets) have submitted recapitalization plans to the CBvS and are expected to reach the regulatory minimum for common equity tier one (CET1) and capital adequacy (CAR) by the end of 2024 and 2026, respectively. To ensure that these plans are effectively implemented and followed, the CBvS has established interim CET1 and CAR targets for these banks and outlined the prompt corrective actions that would be escalated if these targets are not met. Any public support to private banks will have strict conditionality to minimize cost, enhance public confidence, and provide a clear exit strategy for the government. A new governance framework has been established for government-owned banks to ensure they are run on a fully commercial basis, providing for a level-playing field with private banks. Furthermore, the recapitalization of the state-owned bank will take place in 2025 coinciding with the reform of its board and senior management structure and a strengthening of internal audit systems.

Suriname: Selected Financial Sector Indicators

• D. AML/CFT and Governance

17. To strengthen central bank governance, the CBvS’ Council and Executive Board have been fully constituted and efforts continue to establish a regular cycle for external audits . The FY2021 and 2022 financial statements are expected to be published by end-June and end-September 2024, respectively and the MoFP and CBvS are developing a plan to recapitalize the central bank. Staff is providing input into these plans which will delay their implementation to end-June.

18. Other key governance reforms are progressing :

The authorities expect to enact by end-June amendments to the anti-corruption legal framework to bring it into line with the requirements of Chapter III of the UN Convention against Corruption and by end-September amend the legal framework to require: (i) income and asset declarations of politically exposed persons; (ii) the routine verification of these declarations; (iii) publication of income and asset declarations; and (iv) the establishment of proportionate and dissuasive sanctions regime for non-compliance.

A new procurement law is expected to be enacted in June and will require the publication of all tenders and contracts awards, all procurement contracts, the names of the awarded entities and their beneficial owners, the names of the public officials awarding the contracts, and an ex-post validation of delivery of the contracted services.

Suriname has been placed on enhanced follow up by the CFATF 10 and there is a need to: (i) enhance AML/CFT supervision for all financial institutions; (ii) develop and implement risk based supervisory framework for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs); (iii) make available adequate human, financial, and technological resources to the Financial Intelligence Unit; (iv) increase ML/TF related investigations, prosecutions and confiscations; and (v) amend the International Sanctions Framework to update the legal framework in relation to the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions on Terrorism and Proliferation Financing. Work is underway in these areas and a new national risk assessment is planned for mid-2024.

• E. Improving the Quality and Dissemination of Economic Statistics

19. Progress is being made in improving the quality and timeliness of monetary, financial and balance of payment statistics . The authorities have increased the budget of the statistics office, but further efforts are needed to improve the production and timeliness of GDP statistics and provide more disaggregated data on consumer prices.

• Program Issues

20. Staff proposes modifications to program conditionality as follows :

To adjust the QPCs on NIR and NDA for the remainder of 2024 to align them with revisions in the macro-framework and changing macroeconomic circumstances 11 .

To adjust the QPC on the primary balance of the central government for end-June 2024 and end-September 2024, keeping the end-December target unchanged. This will give time for the authorities’ corrective actions to work to return the fiscal position to the previous consolidation path.

To reformulate the end-June 2024 SB on mandating the use of Fiscal Identification Number to clarify that this is applicable to importers and exporters only.

21. Access and capacity to repay . Suriname’s capacity to repay continues to be assessed as adequate under the program baseline but subject to significant risks. Successful implementation of the program will be critical to mitigate these risks. Fund credit outstanding will peak in 2025 at 50 and 12½ percent of usable reserves and GDP, respectively, and will remain elevated through 2030 ( Table 11 ). Annual debt service to the Fund peaks in 2029 at 4.1 percent of exports of goods and services. Out of the SDR 46.7 million scheduled for the sixth review, SDR 19.1 million (41 percent) would be made available for budget support.

22. Lending into arrears . Staff assess that good faith efforts are being made to reach a collaborative agreement with the remaining external creditors. These creditors are not deemed to be a holdout risk and the arrears to these creditors do not undermine the medium-term external viability of Suriname’s balance of payments and its capacity to repay the Fund. As such, the requirements of the lending into arrears policy are judged to have been met.

23. Program financing . Suriname’s program continues to be fully financed with firm commitments of financing for the next 12 months and good prospects for adequate financing for the remaining program period. 12

Suriname: Proposed Program Financing 1/

(In millions of US dollars)

• Staff Appraisal

24. Despite a challenging socio-political environment and binding institutional capacity constraints the authorities have been able to implement an impressive range of reforms . Eliminating fuel subsidies, phasing out electricity and gas subsidies, removing unregistered and chronically absent employees from the public payroll, and broadening the VAT base are all politically costly but necessary reforms. They attest to the government’s commitment to put public finances on a solid footing, improve spending efficiency, channel resources to the most vulnerable, and lower the debt burden.

25. The authorities missed the end-March primary fiscal target but are taking decisive actions to correct course . Capacity constraints in tax administration curbed effective tax collection from the new VAT. Lack of control over the mechanism of direct settlement by the state oil company charged against liabilities owed to the government resulted in overspending on electricity subsidies. Clearance of legacy arrears have contributed to higher spending on goods and services.

26. The phase out of electricity subsidies and the shift to targeted social support will create fiscal space for more productive fiscal spending . Correcting the 2024Q1 overpayment to the electricity company over the course of the year will help keep electricity subsidies within the agreed budget envelope. Making faster progress on the public sector reform will help with attracting and retaining qualified civil servants. Strengthening tax administration is of the highest priority if government is to collect the needed revenues to finance priority expenditures. The VAT law in particular must be strictly enforced, with penalties and interest imposed on companies that do not file or pay on time.

27. Recent macroeconomic stability is not an accident, but a direct result of prudent fiscal and monetary policies . The government should continuously communicate this message to all stakeholders, working with the SEOB. Resisting political pressures to raise spending, lower taxes, and more generally backtrack on policy reforms is critical to maintain the stability that has been so painstakingly secured. There is scope to modestly relax monetary targets but the central bank should monitor liquidity conditions and rigorously use all its sterilization tools to meet these revised reserve money targets.

28. Work is underway to prevent the future accumulation of supplier arrears . Recent reforms will require line ministries to report their planned expenditures and arrears on a monthly basis. The Treasury will also have to pre-authorize all large contracts. These steps will help address weaknesses that in cash management and spending control.

29. There is scope to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the social safety net . Repeated underspending of social assistance programs makes it more difficult to maintain social cohesion during this period of adjustment. Greater investment is needed to reach eligible beneficiaries outside of Paramaribo where poverty is especially acute.

30. The restructuring of Suriname’s debt is largely complete . Negotiations with the remaining small group of private external creditors are ongoing. The restructuring of domestic debts—including those to the central bank has been finalized and domestic debt arrears have been eliminated. However, vulnerabilities in the current debt management strategy should be addressed, including through greater coordination between SDMO, the MoFP, and CBvS for processing domestic debt service payments. In the medium term, restoring domestic market access and strengthening debt management remains a priority, including through the development of a medium-term debt strategy.

31. A strong CBvS balance sheet is crucial for operational independence and the robust implementation of monetary policy . There have been delays in the development of the recapitalization plan but the combined efforts of the MoFP and the CBvS will be needed to finalize the plan. A successful recapitalization will also help the CBvS manage its liabilities more effectively and send a positive signal to financial markets.

32. The transmission of monetary policy remains weak . Improving banks’ understanding of how to access CBvS liquidity facilities and expediting bank requests for liquidity support will help lower the precautionary balances that they currently maintain. Establishing a Treasury Single Account held at the central bank will make liquidity forecasting easier. The central bank commitment to a fully flexible exchange rate is welcome and the electronic FX trading platform should soon be operational.

33. The CBvS is monitoring the timely implementation of recapitalization plans of the two banks with capital shortages . Improved risk-based supervision will help strengthen oversight of financial institutions and allow for the timely identification and mitigation of vulnerabilities. The CBvS should increase its monitoring of non-bank financial institutions, particularly with respect to their interconnectedness with the banking system. The resolution framework—put in place under the recently enacted Bank Resolution Act—should now be operationalized through the issuance of relevant regulations and guidelines. Ongoing efforts to strengthen AML/CFT will support financial system integrity and prevent the potential loss of corresponding banking relationships.

34. Staff supports the authorities’ request for the completion of the sixth review under the EFF arrangement and the completion of the financing assurances review . The authorities are committed at the highest level to restoring macroeconomic and financial stability. In view of the commitments made by the Surinamese authorities and the significant policy efforts made to date coupled with corrective actions taken, staff supports the authorities’ request for the modification of performance criteria and the request for waivers for the nonobservance of performance criteria. Implementation of corrective actions would also not impede successful implementation of the program.

Suriname: Recent Economic Developments

Suriname: Fiscal Developments, 2012–23

(In percent of GDP)

Suriname: External Sector Developments

Suriname: Monetary Developments

Suriname: Selected Economic Indicators

Suriname: Real Sector, by Expenditures 1/

(Percent change, unless otherwise indicated)

Suriname: Central Government Operations

(Millions of SRD)

Suriname: Balance of Payments

(In millions of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Suriname: Gross External Financing Requirements

(In millions of US. dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Suriname: Depositary Corporations Survey and Central Bank Accounts

Suriname: Financial Soundness Indicators

(In percent)

Suriname: Schedule of Reviews and Available Purchases

Suriname: Program Monitoring—Indicators of Fund Credit Under the EFF Supported Program

(In millions of SDR, unless otherwise indicated)

Suriname: Quantitative Performance Criteria and Indicative Targets Under the EFF 1/

(In millions of Suriname dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

Suriname: Structural Benchmarks Under the EFF

Suriname: Decomposition of Public Debt and Debt Service by Creditor

Annex I. Debt Sustainability Analysis

Suriname: Risk of Sovereign Stress

Suriname: Debt Coverage and Disclosures

Suriname: Public Debt Structure Indicators

Suriname: Baseline Scenario

(Percent of GDP unless indicated otherwise)

Suriname: Realism of Baseline Assumptions

Suriname: Medium-Term Risk Analysis

Suriname: Long-Term Risk and Analysis

• A. Public Debt Under Restructuring Scenario

1. The goal of debt restructuring, in conjunction with fiscal consolidation, is to put public debt on a firm downward trajectory and achieve the medium- and long-term debt anchors . The overarching objective of the program is to reduce public debt to 60 percent of GDP by 2035 and reduce GFNs to an average of 9 percent and an upper limit of 12 percent over 2023–35. These serve as the long-term anchors of the program, providing sufficient buffer given the Suriname’s vulnerabilities. A 60 percent debt-to-GDP target is consistent with other recent debt restructurings under IMF-supported programs in the region (e.g., Barbados and Jamaica).

2. The specific assumptions of the baseline program scenario are as follows :

Debt restructuring external official creditors . Under the restructuring scenario, the debt perimeter for restructuring covers external commercial and official bilateral debt (including arrears), in total amounting to about 50 percent of GDP as of end-2021. The authorities reached a restructuring agreement with Paris Club creditors on June 24, 2022, followed by bilateral agreements with all the PC creditors. The final bilateral agreement was reached with Italy in June 2023. Under the agreement with the Paris Club, there is no face value reduction of official debt and ECA-backed commercial debt, but amortization is paused for 7 years (until 2028) and for 8 years (until 2029) respectively. 60 percent of the PC arrears under the bilateral agreement were already paid and the remaining 40 percent is expected to be paid in 2024. In March 2023, an agreement on official credit lines by EXIM India was made and 60 percent of the end-2021 arrears have already been paid, while the remaining 40 percent is expected to be paid in 2024. In line with the Paris Club agreements, amortization is paused for 7 years (until 2028) without face value reduction. An agreement on loans backed by EXIM India was made in May 2023. An agreement in principle at the technical level was reached with China in November 2023 on both phases of the debt treatment (flow and stock relief), which appears in line with the PC treatment and program parameters. It was signed by both parties in March 2024. The agreements with the Paris Club, India and EXIM China do not include a Value Recovery Instrument (VRI). The agreements with the Paris Club and EXIM China include contingencies for the second phase of debt treatment should the macroeconomic outlook improve, in particular pertaining to oil developments.

Debt restructuring with external private creditors . The authorities reached an agreement in principle (AIP) with bondholders in May 2023. The formal debt exchange with private external bondholders was finalized in November 2023, reaching a pre-CAC participation rate over 96 percent and a post-CAC participation rate of 100 percent. 1 The new bonds were issued in an aggregate principal amount of USD 650 million, with an additional USD 10 million issued to cover fees and expenses of the bondholder committee. Interest payments start from 2024 with a coupon of 4.95 percent in cash and with a coupon of 3 percent being capitalized until January 2026, when the coupon rate increases to 7.95 percent. The bonds are amortized in 14 semiannual installments starting in 2027 equal to 1/14 th of the outstanding principal amount. The bonds also include a VRI conditional on new revenue streams from a specific oil development project which is currently under the appraisal process. The program baseline conservatively does not incorporate the additional oil revenue nor debt services on VRI given that a relevant final investment decision (FID) has not been made. After a “one-off” floor of USD 100 million secured for the government, the annual allocation to the VRI is limited to 30 percent of the royalty revenues from the oil development project. 2 In this sense, the VRI would not bring about additional debt sustainability concerns, and the new oil development is considered as potential upside risk. The aggregate amount paid under the VRI is capped at USD 787 million. Under the baseline (without the VRI), using the typical methodology used by official creditors such as the PC this restructuring scenario results in NPV reductions of 19 percent for official and 21 percent for external commercial creditors at a 5 percent discount rate. Other private creditors are assumed to be treated in line with either bondholders or official bilateral creditors.

CBvS restructuring : Legacy debts to the CBvS have been restructured into a new loan with a grace period of 2 years and a maturity of 27 years. All short-term advances made to the CG were repaid to the CBvS in 2023 and there are no outstanding arrears. Losses arising from this restructuring will be reflected in the CBvS recapitalization plan.

Other domestic restructuring . As of November 2022, accumulated domestic debt arrears to commercial banks and NBFIs peaked at SRD 3.3 billion. By February 2024, the authorities had finalized the bilateral restructuring negotiations for all domestic debts (mainly by rollovers combined with extending maturities), including a large USD loan to a commercial bank which accounted for 50 percent of arrears at end-2023. The authorities have gradually implemented a concrete action plan for clearing all domestic debt arrears. Arrears, excluding technical arrears, stood at SRD 0.2 billion in March ( SB, not met, implemented with a delay in May ).

Supplier arrears and other arrears . The final audit of the legacy supplier arrears as of end-2021 confirmed a stock of SRD 4.1 billion. The authorities cleared (on a net basis) SRD 1.5 billion in 2022. The total stock of accounts payable had increased to SRD 7.3 billion by March 2024. About 80 percent of this stock is more than 90 days past the due date and hence considered supplier arrears. 3 The authorities are committed to gradually clearing all other accounts payable by 2027, while further improving their capacity through PFM reforms and TA. In addition, there is a gold loan agreement which was in arrears, evaluated at SRD 0.4 billion at end-2022. These arrears were cleared in 2024 under a renewed agreement. As of end-2023, the authorities had also accumulated SRD 0.8 billion of VAT arrears more than 90 days pas the due date. These arrears are being cleared in line with new indicative targets. The domestic arrear repayment schedule in 2024 that incorporates the government strategy and staff’s assumption are summarized in the Text Table.

Financing : Financing requirements are projected to decline significantly over the medium term due to the external debt restructuring, both through the face-value reduction and coupon reduction on existing external bilateral and commercial debt. Budget support from the IDB is assumed until only 2024 as a conservative assumption, though the government might seek further support afterwards. Project financing from multilateral creditors is assumed to decline gradually in the medium to long term as Suriname switches to market financing of its capital expenditures. Domestic financing is expected to be limited in 2024 and 2025 due to the gradual recovery in the market confidence. The baseline assumes no meaningful domestic market access until 2026. External market access is assumed to resume in 2026. The lack of external and domestic market access creates a potential financing gap in 2025 that is filled by deposit withdrawal. The government had accumulated deposits of SRD 18.0 billion (13 percent of GDP) by end-2023, so potential delays in market access could be covered by a large liquidity buffer. The recapitalization of the commercial banks is a one-off operation, assumed to add 0.4 percent of GDP to the public debt stock in 2024 and 0.2 percent of GDP in 2025. Based on the FY 2020 audit, the recapitalization of the CBvS is assumed to equal 5.0 percent of GDP in 2024. The baseline assumes that the CBvS will need annual injections to ensure capital and reserves grow with GDP. The recapitalization requires a one-off cash injection of SRD 1.0 billion (0.6 percent of GDP) in 2024.

Suriname: Domestic Arrear Clearance Schedule in 2024 (net basis)

3. Public debt is assessed to become sustainable under the restructuring scenario and the implementation of the program . Public debt would be placed on a steady downward trend over the medium and long term, falling below 90 percent in 2024, below 70 percent in 2028, and below 50 percent in 2033. Moreover, GFNs would decline sharply from 9.9 percent in 2022 to 3.2 percent in 2026. GFNs would rise to 6.6 percent in the medium to long term due to debt service to the IF Is (including the IMF) and repayments of restructured external claims, but it would remain at sustainable levels over the long term with GFNs declining from 2033 onwards. If downside risks were to materialize, however, fiscal consolidation beyond the program period may be needed to generate additional buffers.

• B. External DSA

4. External debt is expected to be 114 percent of GDP at end-2023, down from 148 percent at end-2022 . Total external debt is projected to decline below 80 percent of GDP at end-2029. It is expected to track public sector external debt, which accounts for more than 50 percent of total external debt, over the next few years and decline substantially due to a large fiscal adjustment and public external debt restructuring.

5. While external debt is projected to decline substantially over the medium term, macroeconomic shocks pose significant risks ( Figure 6 ) . Various economic shocks reveal that the external debt would be generally kept below 120 percent of GDP. However, the historical scenario suggests that external debt would be considerably higher than the baseline absent efforts on fiscal adjustment, public external debt restructuring, and macroeconomic stability. Continued internal and external adjustment is critical to ensure external sustainability going forward.

Suriname: External Debt Sustainability: Bound Tests 1/ 2/ 3/ 4

(External Debt in percent of GDP)

Annex II. External Sector Assessment 1

Annex III. Risk Assessment Matrix 1

• Appendix I. Letter of Intent

Paramaribo, Suriname

June 5, 2024

Ms. Kristalina Georgieva

Managing Director

International Monetary Fund

Washington, DC 20431

Dear Ms. Georgieva,

We are continuing to make steady progress in implementing the needed macroeconomic adjustment and structural reforms to help Suriname recover from the unprecedented economic crisis and lay foundations for inclusive growth. Over the course of one year, despite increasingly challenging domestic and external environment and capacity constraints, we were able to complete four consecutive reviews (2 nd through 5 th ).

We are demonstrating our commitment to fiscal and monetary discipline. In line with the conservative 2024 budget, we are continuing to phase out subsidies on electricity, water, and gas. We are removing unregistered and chronically absent workers from public payrolls, while enforcing the hiring freeze. We are continuing our efforts to strengthen VAT collections and processing of VAT refunds. To help reestablish domestic market access and strengthen banks’ balance sheets, we have fully cleared domestic arrears to banks. We have also taken measures to prevent the accumulation of supplier arrears. Restrictive monetary policy helped put inflation on a firmly downward trend. Our efforts to restore fiscal discipline and successful debt restructuring process have been recognized by donors, credit rating agencies, and investors. International bond spreads are now at historic lows.

We made concerted efforts to complete the fiscal structural reforms for this review. To prevent accumulation of supplier arrears, we issued a resolution to clarify the government is not to be responsible for contracts that had no prior authorization from the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MOFP), issued a State decree to provide the Minister of Finance the authority to access all bank accounts held by government entities at commercial banks, and mandated that all line ministries report supplier arrears to the Ministry of Finance on a monthly basis. To improve VAT collections, we have mandated the use of Fiscal Identification Number for all importers and exporters. We are continuing to publish quarterly budget execution reports. The new procurement law is expected to be enacted shortly by the National Assembly, which will bring both efficiency and transparency to government procurement practices. The long-anticipated social assistance reform plan has finally been completed, helping chart a path to increase efficiency and effectiveness of our social safety net – which is critical for a sustainable and socially acceptable fiscal adjustment.

Our debt restructuring process is entering its final phase. EXIM China is drafting the final agreement, which we expect to sign in the coming months. We expect to start negotiations with the Paris Club (PC) for the second phase of debt treatment in September. An agreement-in-principle (AIP) with the ICBC is expected in the coming months. We have also fully repaid all domestic debt arrears and built capacity of our debt management office to properly record and promptly service all domestic and external debt obligations.

Our restrictive monetary policy stance has firmly put inflation on a downward path, benefiting the Surinamese people by arresting the real wage erosion and helping create a more favorable business climate. We will continue to monitor monetary developments and maintain the reserve money path consistent with the program targets. As the inflationary and currency depreciation pressures have been contained, bank credit growth caps have been discontinued. Given sufficiently tight liquidity conditions in the banking system and the recent sharp exchange rate appreciation, we are considering gradual loosening of the monetary policy stance. We will continue to carefully monitor the liquidity conditions and consult with the IMF staff on any additional policy steps.

We remain committed to a flexible, market-determined exchange rate. We will ensure that any FX regulations are consistent with the program objectives and do not interfere with the functioning of the FX market. The CBvS has refrained from FX interventions. As the FX conditions have eased and import backlogs for the suppliers of essential goods have been resolved, starting in July, mineral companies will now pay all of their government revenue obligations in FX. To increase the liquidity and transparency in the FX market, we will launch an electronic trading platform for inter-bank FX trading, which will be gradually expanded, based on their AML/CFT compliance, to also cover cambios and gold exporters.

We are committed to bolstering financial sector resilience and strengthening central bank governance and operational independence. We have submitted a legislative amendment of the Foreign Exchange Regulation 1947 to the National Assembly, bringing it in line with the new Central Bank Act. The CBvS is on track to publish the audited IFRS financial statements of 2021 and 2022 in June and September respectively. To avoid further delays, we will finalize the time-bound plan to recapitalize the central bank by end-June, with provisions for additional recapitalization needs if required by subsequent financial statements. The CBvS, in consultation with the IMF, has also set common equity tier one and capital adequacy ratio targets for banks with capital shortages and has outlined the corrective measures it would take if the CET1/CAR targets were breached.

Strengthening governance and addressing vulnerability to corruption are critical to prepare Suriname for oil wealth. We are in the process of amending the Anti-Corruption legal framework to criminalize acts of corruption. We are also revising the Anti-Corruption legal framework to create a requirement for the income and asset declarations of politically exposed persons, the routine verification of these declarations, the publication of this information, and the establishment of proportionate sanctions for non-compliance.

We have experienced some setbacks in program implementation relating to the performance of quantitative targets and are implementing corrective measures to meet future targets. These will include stricter enforcement of VAT tax compliance, including imposing penalties and interest on late filing and payment of outstanding taxes, in line with the VAT law. On the other hand, fully complying companies will benefit from fast-track refund processing and limited audits. We will more stringently enforce the “no work-no pay law” through swift removal of unregistered and chronically absent workers from public payroll. We will cap direct settlements by the state oil company towards the government, ensuring that electricity tariff increases bring corresponding fiscal savings and are properly reflected in government’s fiscal accounts. Finally, we will curtail non-priority capital expenditures. To address slippages on the monetary targets, we will improve information sharing between MOFP and the central bank on liquidity forecasting and arrears repayment.

To support our efforts, we request the completion of the sixth review of the extended arrangement under the EFF, which will make available an amount equivalent to SDR 46.7 million (36.3 percent of quota or about USD 62.6 million) upon approval (out of which SDR 19.1 million or about USD 25.7 million would be for budget support), and the completion of the financing assurances review.

As we experienced some setbacks in program implementation, we are requesting waivers for the nonobservance of the end-March 2024 QPCs (floor on the primary fiscal balance (cash basis) of central government; the ceiling on net domestic assets (NDAs) of the central bank; the floor on the net international reserves of the central bank) based on the corrective actions we undertook to correct the fiscal underperformance. We also request the modification of the QPCs on the ceiling on net domestic assets (NDAs) of the central bank and the floor on the net international reserves of the central bank for the remainder of the program and modification of the end-June 2024 and end-September 2024 fiscal QPCs.

The attached Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) provides an update on recent developments since the fifth review of the EFF and sets out in detail the steps the government intends to adopt to achieve its policy objectives. The government stands ready, if necessary, to take any additional measures that may be required during the EFF to achieve the objectives of the program. In such cases, the government will consult in advance with the IMF on the adoption of these measures or revisions to the policies contained in the MEFP, in accordance with the Fund’s policies on such consultation, to ensure that the objectives of the government’s adjustment program are met. As part of our communication strategy, we have held frequent discussions with the broader society on the EFF-supported program and the government’s economic recovery plan, and we will publish this letter on the websites of the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MoFP) and the CBvS to keep our citizens and international partners informed about our policy actions and intentions. In that regard, we authorize the IMF to publish this letter, its attachments, and the related staff report.

The government will provide IMF staff with all the relevant information required to complete the scheduled program reviews and monitor performance on a timely basis. The government will observe the standard continuous performance criteria against imposing or intensifying exchange restrictions, introducing or modifying multiple currency practices, concluding bilateral payment agreements that are inconsistent with Article VIII of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, and imposing or intensifying import restrictions for balance of payments reasons.

Very truly yours,

Attachments: Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies

Technical Memorandum of Understanding

Attachment I. Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies

• I. Background and Recent Developments

1. Our government remains fully committed to the objectives of our home-grown reform program supported by the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement . On December 22, 2021, the IMF Executive Board approved an extended arrangement under the EFF with access of 366.8 percent of quota (SDR 472.8 million or USD 673 million). The program aimed to: (i) restore fiscal sustainability and strengthen fiscal management; (ii) bring public debt down to sustainable levels; (iii) improve the social safety net to better protect the most vulnerable; (iv) upgrade the monetary policy framework and adopt a flexible, market-determined exchange rate; (v) improve the viability of the financial system (including, where needed, through recapitalization) and develop a more effective bank oversight; and (vi) tackle corruption, strengthen institutions and institutional governance, and enhance Suriname’s AML/CFT framework. After one year delay we were able to bring the program back on track and complete the second review in June 2023. Since then, based on our demonstrated commitment to implement the reform program despite challenging sociopolitical environment, the IMF Executive Board completed the third, fourth, and fifth reviews under the extended arrangement under the EFF in September 2023, December 2023, and March 2024 respectively.

2. We remain resolute in putting government finances in order . Fuel subsidies were discontinued, and fuel prices are now determined by an automatic pricing mechanism based on international prices. Specific duties on fuel have also been imposed. Distortionary and costly electricity, gas, and water subsidies are being phased out, while protecting vulnerable groups through higher social assistance spending. The public sector wage bill has been contained. The Value-Added Tax (VAT) was introduced, and its base has been subsequently broadened. We have also made timely progress in completing both domestic and external debt restructuring processes. In January we approved a conservative 2024 budget that is in line with the fiscal consolidation envisioned under the program.

3. We are seeing the results of our hard work and sacrifices in restored macroeconomic stability . Economic recovery is ongoing. Confidence in the local currency has been restored. Inflation, while still high (at 26.8 percent year-on-year in March) is on a steady downward path. Usable international reserves remained stable at 6 months of imports at end-March.

4. There are still major challenges ahead and hard work to be done . While the economy is recovering, real GDP remains below its pre-pandemic level. Inflation is still high, and the financial sector is still vulnerable. Some important reforms, particularly on strengthening governance and addressing vulnerabilities to corruption, are yet to be fully implemented. Nevertheless, we are committed to keeping the reform momentum going despite headwinds from political opposition, reform fatigue among the population, and internal capacity constraints.

• II. Returning Public Finances to a Sustainable Path While Protecting the Vulnerable

5. Our ability to implement difficult policies despite an increasingly challenging sociopolitical environment speaks of our commitment to fiscal sustainability . In a span of one year, we fully eliminated fuel subsidies, started to phase out object subsidies (electricity, gas, water), and contained the public wage bill. We also introduced the VAT and subsequently broadened its base.

6. While we fell short of the end-March primary fiscal balance target, we are taking measures to correct the course (¶7) . Solid revenues from mining were not sufficient to balance disappointing VAT receipts and overspending on goods and services and electricity subsidies. We reached a primary surplus of SRD 28 million in Q1 2024. However, this was lower than the SRD 1,153 and SRD 1,755 million unadjusted and adjusted targets, respectively, under the program.

7. To reach the required primary balance of 2.7 percent of GDP this year, we are committed to implementing a range of revenue and expenditure measures, including :

VAT . In 2023, we enacted an amendment to the VAT Act to broaden the tax base to impose the standard 10 percent VAT rate on 60 percent of household consumption. A new 5 percent rate on water, electricity, and cooking gas will be introduced in June 2024. We have made significant strides in registering new taxpayers, with over 4,200 registered by April 2024 – albeit short of our target of 5,000. However, filing compliance remains low (at around 70 percent). To correct this issue, we issued a ministerial resolution that for any tax returns due in June 2024 and onwards, late filing and/or failure to pay will incur penalties and interest. All outstanding returns for the taxable periods January 2023 to April 2024 will have until June 30 to file and pay or arrange for payment of VAT without penalties and interest. After that date, penalties and interest will be applied. Based on the recommendations of the recently concluded IMF/FAD TA on revenue administration, we will implement streamlined and risk-based procedures to ensure fast processing of VAT refunds. In addition, we will fast-track refunds for compliant taxpayers by setting up a “gold list” of top taxpayers that have filed accurately and on-time. We have already introduced a VAT refund profiling mechanism to accelerate the processing of VAT refunds. We commit to monitor and clear the outstanding VAT refund arrears by end-2024.

Electricity subsidies. We aim to phase out costly and inefficient electricity subsidies, mindful that climate change is increasingly impacting our ability to use hydropower to produce low-cost and stable electricity. We increased average electricity bills by around 36 percent in 2023. We have agreed on a plan of tariff adjustments in 2024, with the first increase of 40 percent in March. Further four increases of 7 percent each are planned for the rest of the year, and tariffs will be linked to the exchange rate and oil price developments. Tariffs for commercial users will reach cost-recovery by mid-2024. On the other hand, low- and middle-income households will still receive partial support towards their electricity bills. Due to the complex landscape of the electricity sector, tariff increases do not directly translate into fiscal savings for the central government. We have now reached agreement with Staatsolie on the new settlement mechanism to ensure that targeted fiscal savings from subsidy reductions will be achieved. To ensure transparency and help with public buy-in for the reform, we will continue publishing on the Energie Autoriteit van Suriname external website quarterly updates of the tariffs for each consumer group, the rationale for the adjustment, the estimated cost of providing electricity, and the remaining size of the subsidy. We will also provide the information on the cost, consumption, subject subsidy, and object subsidy on the electricity bill that each consumer receives.

Wage bill . We will keep the public wage bill constant in real terms in 2024, at 6.7 percent of GDP. We are proceeding carefully with the process of removing unregistered and chronically absent workers from the public payroll. We have been clearing other irregularities (workers with two full-time salaries, for example). Savings from these measures will be used to modestly increase the real compensation of public sector workers in 2024, in particular for high-skilled workers, which have been eroded over the past three years. In February 2024, we rolled out a digital personnel data information system at five ministries to monitor the size of the civil service, absenteeism, and the alignment between qualifications and appointments. We expect this system to cover all ministries by end-2024.

Fuel subsidies and taxes . We fully eliminated fuel subsidies in March 2023 and reinstated taxes on fuel. Fuel prices are now determined by an automatic pricing mechanism based on international prices. We have developed and documented a methodology that automatically increases taxes on fuel when fuel prices drop and decreases the fuel tax when fuel prices increase. This methodology also incorporates annual adjustments for inflation and a floor on the tax.

8. We are strengthening fiscal institutions . The reforms focus on improving our tax administration, public debt management and public financial management (PFM).

Improving treasury management . We will implement a pilot treasury single account (TSA) for a limited set of ministries ( structural benchmark for end-January 2025 ). To enable this reform, we have issued a state decree to provide the Minister of Finance the authority to access all banks accounts held by government entities at commercial banks ( structural benchmark for end-March 2024, met ). The implementation of the TSA will be supported by IMF capacity development. Implementation will include devising new business processes for the TSA and developing a strategy for the orderly transition of balances from individual bank accounts to the TSA. We will communicate the decision to establish a TSA broadly across ministries and build capacity for all those involved with the TSA. After implementing the pilot in 2024, we will evaluate the process and consider what changes are needed before fully rolling out the TSA in subsequent years.

Preventing supplier arrears . Aided by IMF capacity development, we have created a cash management unit within the Treasury at end-2023 that will oversee the implementation of the TSA, cover liquidity planning, accounts management, and cashflow management. We continue to improve our monitoring of supplier arrears. We have issued a resolution stating that government will not be responsible for contracts agreed with line ministries that have no prior authorization from the MoFP ( structural benchmark for end-April, met ).To prevent further accumulation of supplier arrears, the Budget Department will set commitment ceilings by line ministry of at least quarterly and enforce them, including through FreeBalance ( continuous structural benchmark, not met, expected to be implemented with delay in June ). This will require institutionalizing meetings and data sharing between the Budget Department and the Cash Management Unit. We will also continue improving the reliability of cash flow forecasts and liquidity planning. To improve oversight of expenditure arrears across the government, we will mandate all line ministries to report the stock of arrears to the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MoFP) monthly ( structural benchmark for end-June 2024, met) . With support of the IMF’s capacity development, we will continue to enhance the quality and accuracy of the arrears information by strengthening the legal framework, processes and institutional capacities. These are critical aspects for implementing effective arrears control measures.

Strengthening tax administration . We are prioritizing improvements in the administration of the VAT to reduce VAT refund arrears and improve compliance and collections. To be able to track compliance and properly assess tax arrears we will post all VAT returns filed to taxpayers’ accounts within 24 hours of filing as well as post all payments within 24 hours of receiving the information from banks. We will mandate that all importers and exporters use thea Fiscal Identification Number (FIN) ( end-June 2024 proposed to be reformulated ) when processing transactions with the Custom and Excise Department, which will facilitate sharing and cross-matching of data to identify unregistered taxpayers and underreporting. We will expand this mandate to cover all taxpayers by end-December 2024. We will establish a dedicated VAT refund account to pay refunds by July 2024, and with IMF capacity development we will develop a national audit plan with audit risk selection criteria by end-August 2024. To improve the ease of paying taxes, we will develop an online VAT payment option by end-July 2024. These improvements are expected to improve our ability to administer all taxes.

Improving debt management and recording . To ensure timely payments of debt obligations, we have improved SDMO’s back-office capacity and coordination between SDMO, the MoFP, and the CBvS. We have set up an information system tasked with receiving and dispatching information regarding upcoming payments to external creditors. With help from IMF capacity development, we have produced and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between these parties, which defines responsibilities for timely information provision to other agencies and processing of payments. The MOU also specifies an escalation process within each agency and procedures for inter-agency monitoring. We have not accumulated any new external debt arrears since this system was set up. We fully staffed the SDMO with six employees responsible solely for the back-office functions.

Improving procurement practices . We have ratified the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)’s Protocol on Public Procurement in July 2022. To improve transparency in public procurement, we will shortly enact a new procurement law to centralize and mandate the publication of all public procurement tenders and contract awards, including the names of the awarded entities and their beneficial owner(s), the names of public officials awarding the contracts, and an ex-post validation of delivery of the contracted services (structural benchmark for end-September 2023, not met) . We will then publish the information in line with the enacted law on an external government website by end-September 2024. In collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat, we will incorporate in our Integrated Financial Management Information System a procurement module and integrate and connect this module with the regional system to increase spending efficiency.

Strengthening public investment management with climate considerations . With help from the IDB, we are upgrading our public investment management (PIM) procedures into a PIM manual. We will publish this manual with general guidelines for the economic appraisal of investment projects, including climate change and flood risk management considerations, and sectoral guidelines for key ministries by end-December 2024. We have already engaged line ministries to sensitize them, and we will seek to formalize these guidelines by strengthening the PIM governance legal framework and put in place a public investment unit at the Ministry of Finance.

Strengthening SOE oversight . We will strengthen our oversight of SOEs. We will collect and publish the latest financial information for the largest SOEs. We will initiate quarterly financial monitoring of these SOEs and, with help from IMF capacity development, will produce a report that identifies and quantifies the fiscal risk generated by the largest SOEs by end-December 2024.

• III. Strengthening the Social Safety Net

9. Our goal is to ensure that the burden of fiscal consolidation is not borne by the poor and vulnerable . Instead, the better off should pay their fair share of taxes, and the fiscal space created by eliminating generalized energy subsidies that disproportionately benefit the rich should be channeled to help the poor and vulnerable. Sheltering the poor from the adjustment is not only a moral imperative, but also important for preserving growth and securing a stable social environment for the implementation of the program.

10. We will redouble our efforts to tackle extreme poverty . The most recent 2022 Suriname Survey of Living Conditions found that extreme poverty had increased from 0.7 in 2016/17 to 2.6 percent of households. Extreme poverty is concentrated in the interior, with 6.3 percent of households living in extreme poverty. However, the largest increases in extreme poverty came in Great Paramaribo (1.5 percentage points higher) and the rest of the coastal regions (3.2 percentage points higher). Overall poverty, however, had fallen slightly from 23.4 percent to 21.7 percent.

11. Despite our best efforts to sufficiently increase social protection spending, we fell short of the program target in Q1 2024 but are taking corrective steps to sufficiently protect the poor going forward . In July we increased the value of cash transfers by around 45 percent and expanded coverage of the social beneficiary program (SRD 1800 per month) to include recipients of the general old age pension. In December 2023 we fast-tracked the registration and delivery of digital payments cards to applicants to the new social beneficiary program. In January we issued one-off payments to the eligible beneficiaries. We will increase social spending from 2.2 percent of GDP in 2023 to 3 percent of GDP in 2024. We are expanding the coverage of the social beneficiary program which now has over 113,000 beneficiaries. We will better calibrate the value of cash transfers in 2024 to ensure that vulnerable households are protected, with a view to closing the poverty gap for as many poor households as possible. We will coordinate increases in our social beneficiary program with electricity tariff adjustments to ensure that vulnerable households are protected while energy subsidies are phased out. We will make concerted efforts to reach out and deliver social aid to all eligible households.

12. We have finalized a strategic plan for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of social protection . With help from the ILO and IDB in conducting diagnostics, we developed our home-grown strategic plan in line with our Multi-Annual Development Plan 2022–26 (end-December SB, not met, implemented with delay in May 2024) . Our strategic focus is on areas where efficiency savings can be made by rationalizing programs and on expanding coverage. We are working towards creating a single digital beneficiary information system financed by the IDB which is expected to be ready for implementation by end-2025. This will enable us to streamline our 21 social programs into a smaller set of coherent social programs. We are also expanding coverage and reducing costs by transitioning to digital payment methods.

13. To overcome geographic and institutional challenges, we have intensified our digitalization efforts to expand coverage and improve delivery . We are intensifying our efforts to shift beneficiaries to digital payments using a government-provided debit card system. With the help of the IDB, we have purchased 73,500 cards to service our traditional and new cash transfer programs. Rolling out digital payments to households in the interior will vastly improve the efficiency of delivery significantly, particularly in hard-to-reach areas. This will enable us to make more timely, cost-effective, and frequent payments to households in the interior where consumption poverty is 20 percentage points above the national average. Our digital cash transfer infrastructure is a critical pillar of preparedness for future economic shocks. We will further leverage this infrastructure to improve financial inclusion in the future – especially for those in rural areas where only 21 percent of adults have bank accounts.

14. To improve transparency in social protection spending, we have begun reporting on the performance and coverage of our cash transfer programs . We have published on the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing’s external website a monthly report detailing the number of households or individuals covered by each program in each district, along with the value of cash transfers made to recipients in each district under each program and eligibility criteria ( end-January 2024 SB, met ).

• IV. Restructuring Public Debt

15. We are committed to putting public debt on a sustainable path .

We are committed to bringing down public debt to 60 percent of GDP by 2035. We will keep our gross financing needs below an average of 9 percent of GDP in 2024–35 (and no higher than 12 percent of GDP in any one year). Our program ensures the fiscal position is fully financed in 2024 and 2025.

We have followed best practices in sovereign debt restructuring, including considering inter-creditor equity and comparability of treatment of all official bilateral creditors. We are committed to working with all external creditors to achieve debt treatments consistent with program parameters and recognizing that servicing debt on the original terms would not be consistent with debt sustainability.

We reached an agreement in principle with the Paris Club creditors in June 2022 and have subsequently reached and signed bilateral agreements with all the Paris Club creditors. In May 2023, we formally reached an agreement-in-principle with the Bondholder’s Committee and the actual debt exchange was successfully finalized in November 2023, with pre-CAC participation of more than 96 percent and 100 percent post-CAC participation. The two outstanding Eurobonds were exchanged for one fixed income instrument that contains a value recovery instrument (VRI) which is structured to ensure that the Republic and its population will fully benefit from oil-related revenues. We presented restructuring offers to China and India in July 2022, and we finalized agreements with India in 2023. In November 2023, an agreement in principle at the technical level was reached with China EXIM on the two-stage (flow and stock relief) debt treatment. It was signed by both parties in March. The AIP is comparable with that agreed with the Paris Club (PC) creditors and is consistent with debt sustainability. The final agreement with EXIM China and PC creditors on the second phase of the restructurings is expected in the coming months.

We are conducting our negotiations with remaining private external creditors in good faith, by sharing relevant, non-confidential information with all creditors on a timely basis and providing creditors with an early opportunity to give input on the design of restructuring strategies. In April, an agreement was signed with ABN AMRO to restructure two outstanding loans. Our government’s approach has been based on four pillars: (i) a fair and equitable treatment for all our creditors; (ii) transparency and constructive dialogue; (iii) a commitment to fiscal consolidation and reform policies going forward; and (iv) a sustainable debt solution within the IMF debt sustainability framework.

As part of the commitment to restore debt sustainability, we concluded the restructuring of the legacy debts to the CBvS in July 2023. We completed the restructuring of domestic debt (including arrears) to commercial banks in January 2024. We have cleared all remaining domestic debt arrears except technical arrears (end-March SB, not met, implemented with delay in May) .

Other accounts payable, of which 80 percent are supplier arrears that were due more than 90 days ago, stood at SRD 7.6 billion in December 2023. We commit to put a full stop to the accumulation of new supplier arrears. In addition, we are determined to gradually clear the entire stock of supplier arrears by end-2027. We are mindful that the fiscal targets are evaluated on a cash basis and commit to offsetting any clearance of supplier arrears by lower goods and services spending. We are actively implementing measures to monitor and prevent the accumulation of supplier arrears (¶9).

Further, the government will not provide guarantees to debt contracted by other parties during the program, nor will it or the SOEs contract new debt that is collateralized by natural resource revenues (or allow the public sector to contract such debt on behalf of the central government).

• V. Managing Monetary Policy

16. Our monetary policy stance has helped put inflation on a downward trend as the SRD liquidity conditions tightened . Tight liquidity is supported by continued diligent implementation of the central bank’s open market operations (OMOs), through more regular wholesale auctions and direct issuances of Central Bank Certificates (CBCs), and the increase in the local currency reserve requirement from 39 to 44 percent last year. The month-on-month inflation has dropped to pre-crisis levels and has stabilized. The exchange rate has also been appreciating in recent months. Private sector credit growth has slowed, contained in part by the CBvS guidance to commercial banks to limit the increase in the stock of nominal credit to 20 percent over a 12-month period through end-March 2024.

17. We are considering gradual relaxation of the monetary policy stance . Given recent trends in disinflation, there is a scope to slow down the decrease in reserve money in real terms. This will increase the availability of credit for the private sector in SRD and help support growth. As we gradually relax the monetary targets, we will closely monitor developments in the FX market and the profitability of banks.

18. We will improve our liquidity forecasting capability . The end-March net domestic assets (NDA) and net international reserves (NIR) targets were missed because of the clearance of both SRDs and FX denominated domestic and supplier arrears were not adequately captured in CBvS’ liquidity forecasts. Improved accuracy and timeliness of government revenue and expenditure data (including arrears clearance) provided by the MOFP to the CBvS, will help enhance our liquidity forecasts. As part of the implementation of the TSA, we will gradually move the available government deposits in commercial banks to the CBvS, which will improve our ability to forecast liquidity conditions. We are also aligning the base for the calculation of the FX and SRD SNEPS norm with the reserve requirements for the banks.

19. We plan to reduce the usage of Central Bank Certificate (CBCs) for mopping up liquidity . We will abide by the Central Bank Certificate auction schedule for the rest of the year and will consult with IMF staff before releasing the schedule of CBC auctions for 2025. We will not conduct any ad-hoc CBC retail auctions. In addition, we are planning to allow banks to sell CBCs in the secondary market under clear rules to strengthen monetary transmission and will gradually reduce the volume and the average maturity of the CBCs to accommodate development of government securities market.

20. The CBvS stands ready to help banks cover unexpected short-term liquidity gaps through the standing lending and intraday facilities . To prevent excessive reliance on the standing facility, it is priced based on the weighted average price of open-market operations plus a modest spread. However, the facilities are currently underutilized as banks prefer to hold on to high levels of precautionary reserves. To strengthen participation in OMOs, we are engaging with the commercial banks to align assessments of excess liquidity and to improve their understanding of all liquidity facilities available with the central bank. We will explore digitalizing various processes to ensure that healthy banks can more easily draw on the liquidity facilities, without having to undergo cumbersome paper-based requests for liquidity which cause processing delays. If required, the CBvS will seek to sterilize liquidity from the use of the facility through OMOs to minimize disruptions to its reserve money targets. Banks’ access to the ELA is subject to a supervisory decision based on the assessment of viability and solvency, and as needed, remedial action.

21. Our foreign exchange policies are embedded in our commitment to a flexible, market-determined exchange rate . We have refrained from direct FX interventions. The FX market pressures have eased significantly, and the exchange rate has been appreciating since December. With the underlying market conditions remaining tight, now is the opportune time to phase out limited indirect FX sales to essential goods importers in June 2024. Cumulatively the FX sales between July 2023 and end-March 2024 were limited to just over USD 25 million in view of keeping the total central government SRD mineral revenue receipts under the program USD 30 million ceiling. MoFP will continue to transfer all other government net FX receipts (including from IFI budget support) at the prevailing market exchange rate to the CBvS only, except for transfers required to meet the government’s domestic FX debt service obligations. 1

22. We are improving functioning of the foreign exchange market . After a series of procurement and technical delays in the testing phase, the electronic FX trading platform ( end-September 2023 SB, not met ) will be launched in June. The initial participation in the platform will be limited to inter-bank transactions but will be expanded progressively, based on their AML/CFT compliance, to cambios and to gold exporters. To support timely FX availability to market participants, a surrender requirement for exporters to offer 35 percent of export proceeds to the market remains in force, with sale of repatriated FX to follow banks’ own daily rates as per the CBvS Circular 2023–2 issued on September 8, 2023. We have not issued any additional FX market regulatory guidance, and we remain committed to consult with the Fund before issuing any such guidance. Moreover, we will refrain from any interventions or administrative measures that could impede efficient functioning of the FX market or be inconsistent with the program or Suriname’s obligations under Article VIII, Sections 2 and 3 of the IMF’s Article of Agreement.

• VI. Reducing Banking Sector Risks

23. We are committed to addressing vulnerabilities in the banking system . The reported level of capital adequacy ratio for the banking system is 21.6 percent as of March 2024. Nonperforming loans continue to decline but on average they are still above the five percent benchmark. Banks’ long positions in FX coupled with the appreciating exchange rate and exacerbated by retail investors’ FX deposit withdrawals, increase their losses from foreign exchange holdings. The banking system remain to be liquid on aggregate, largely due to high reserve requirements with liquid assets comprising 54.2 percent of total assets, but SRD liquidity is tight because of the high demand for CBCs by retail investors. Liquidity is unevenly distributed across banks and skewed towards two large systemic banks. We will continue to prudently monitor the liquidity in the banking system and consult IMF staff on any changes in monetary policy that may affect the liquidity positions of banks.

24. We will ensure the timely completion of bank recapitalization plans to preserve the stability in the financial system . In line with the post-AQR roadmap, banks with capital shortages pledge, through the recapitalization plans submitted to the CBvS, to reach the required levels of common equity tier one (CET1) and capital adequacy (CAR) ratios by the end of 2024 and 2026 respectively. To ensure that these plans are effectively implemented and followed, we set, in consultation with IMF staff, interim CET1 and CAR targets for these banks and outlined the prompt corrective actions we would escalate if the targets are breached (structural benchmark, not met, implemented with delay in April 2024) . Consistent with our bank recapitalization assessment framework, these banks are subject to enhanced supervision and restrictions on dividend payouts and bonus payments, and we follow their alignment with actions foreseen in the recapitalization plans. Any government solvency support will be designed to be in place for viable banks under strict conditionality to minimize costs and moral hazard, enhance public confidence, and provide a clear exit strategy for the government.

25. We are implementing structural reforms to strengthen supervision of the banking system . It is our priority to ensure that state owned banks are taking necessary steps in line with the governance framework agreed by the CBvS and the MoFP, benefiting from international best practices, to ensure they are run on a fully commercial basis, providing a level playing field with private banks. To enhance the governance framework of the state-owned bank with a capital shortfall during the implementation of its recapitalization plan, we will ensure that the recovery in its capital stems from a sustainable business model. The amendments to the Banking and Credit System Supervision Act enacted in January enhance risk-based supervision of banks. This enhances our supervisory capacity and allows our supervisors to adequately evaluate a bank’s financial health and its compliance with regulations, while ensuring that timely measures are taken to prevent further deterioration in its financial position. The Bank Resolution Bill will strengthen CBvS’ powers and tools for early intervention, recovery and resolution of credit institutions. We continue to assess banks’ strategies to reduce their nonperforming loans in line with our guidance shared with the banking system.

26. We are determined to implement other important financial sector reforms . We are committed to improve the supervision of the insurance and pension sectors, the capital market and electronic payment systems, as well as establish credit reporting, deposit insurance, and enhance electronic transactions. CBvS is drafting acts and regulations in these areas. Ongoing efforts to strengthen the AML/CFT framework will support the financial sector resilience. We will enhance monitoring of non-bank financial institutions, in particular with respect to their interconnectedness with the banking system. We will collect information about the loans extended by insurance firms and pension funds and initiate efforts for enhancing the functioning of the credit bureau, through adequate supervision and regulation, to provide a database for assessing the overall indebtedness of borrowers. The revised AML/CFT regulation have been issued in February 2024. Given limited resources, we will prepare a comprehensive plan to coordinate and integrate the various reform initiatives to ensure timely implementation, supported by technical assistance by the IMF and other parties.

• VII. Improving Monetary Governance

27. The CBvS is continuing to make progress in clearing the backlog of financial statements audits and continues to conduct special audits of program monetary data . The CBvS’ audited FY 2020 financial statements in line with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) were published in November 2023. We will publish the FY 2021 and FY 2022 audited financial statements by end-June 2024 and end-September 2024 (SBs) . Audits of program monetary data conducted for each test date since the start of the program have not raised material issues. We will continue to perform these audits for each future test dates to confirm the data underlying the performance criteria. To reinforce the internal audit function, we will continue to co-source specifics audits while building capacity. Finally, to strengthen the governance and oversight of foreign reserves management by the CBvS we received IMF technical assistance and will implement the suggestions in the TA report.

28. We have reviewed the Foreign Exchange Regulation of 1947 and aligned it with the new Central Bank Act . Since a full assessment of whether this regulation is still fit and proper will take time, we followed a two-pronged strategy. The first step was identifying, in consultation with IMF staff, the elements in the regulation that are not aligned with the amendments to the Central Bank Act (e.g., the determination of exchange rate policy, setting exchange rates for FX transactions and the use of different rates). A legislative amendment of the regulation to the National Assembly has been submitted ( structural benchmark for end-December 2023, not met, implemented with delay in May ). In anticipation of the adoption of the amendments, the Foreign Exchange Commission has refrained from using the powers covered by the amendments. Second, we will undertake a full review of the Foreign Exchange Regulation of 1947 in consultation with IMF staff and will involve all stakeholders. The review has been delayed due to staffing capacity constraints, but our aim remains to finalize it by the end of December 2024.

29. We are working on a plan to recapitalize the CBvS . We are determined to ensure that the CBvS has a strong balance sheet and sufficient financial resources to execute its mandate. This enhances the credibility of the CBvS and strengthens the effectiveness of monetary policy. The plan will be based on the FY 2020 published audited financials and will include provisions to inject more equity should the finalized FY 2021, FY 2022, and FY 2023 financial audits and/or a realized lower market value of instruments used for recapitalization imply higher recapitalization needs. It will include a clear target level of capital with implementation through marketable instruments. The plan will outline a binding timeline to complete the recapitalization before the end of the program. The plan will also contain an agreement between the MoFP and the CBvS on procedures to ensure the equity of the CBvS will remain above the minimum level as outlined in the Central Bank Act.

• VIII. Tackling Corruption, Improving Governance, and Enhancing the AML/CFT Framework

30. While capacity constraints have delayed implementation of key governance reforms, the government has made some progress :

Following the ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the government installed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in May 2023, for a 5-year term. With the help of IMF capacity development, we will enact amendments to the anti-corruption legal framework by end-June to bring it into line with the requirements of Chapter III of UN Convention against Corruption on the criminalization of acts of corruption (structural benchmark for end-June 2024) .

Also with IMF capacity development, we will make changes to the legal framework to create an effective asset and income declaration scheme which is in line with international best practice, in the Suriname context. The framework will require declarations from politically exposed persons following the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), involve routine declaration verification, and ensure that declarations are made publicly available (except confidential data for personal and family safety reasons such as account numbers or personal identification numbers). The scheme will also establish proportionate sanctions for non-compliance ( structural benchmark for end-September 2024) .

We are in discussions with several possible providers – including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) – concerning an electronic management program for the asset and income declaration (AID) scheme. We will liaise with the IMF to ensure that the system selected will help us deliver an AID scheme that is fit for purpose.

Based on the November 2022 assessment by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), we enacted a new AML/CFT law in November 2022 to bring in line with international standards the key technical compliance deficiencies which placed Suriname on enhanced follow up. Going forward, we will work closely with donors and providers, including the IMF, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (’UNODC’) and the World Bank to strengthen Suriname’s anti-corruption and AML/CFT framework. To fully comply with CFATF requirements, we will: (i) implement a risk-based AML/CFT supervision for all financial institutions (banks, exchange offices, money transfer offices, credit unions, insurance companies, and pension funds); (ii) develop and implement risk-based supervisory framework for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs); (iii) make available adequate human, financial, and technological resources to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); and (iv) amend the International Sanctions Framework to update the legal framework in relation to the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions Against Terrorism and Proliferation Financing. This includes ongoing efforts to amend the Money Transfer Offices Supervision Act, Capital Markets Act, and introducing Insurance Supervision Act and Electronic Payment Systems Act.

Suriname also made the commitment to initiate the process for a second National Risk Assessment (2020–24). To this end Kroll AML Division has been contracted to advise and assist in the execution of this initiative. The Ministry of Economic Affairs already started the process for a sectoral assessment regarding Legal Persons including Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBOs) and Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs). In November 2022, the AML Steering Council (ASC) approved the AML Strategic Plan 2022–25. In March 2023, the ASC approved a list of High Prioritized Actions for 2023—Q2 2024, which is being rigorously implemented. The priority is for a follow up NRA to fill the gaps identified in the first NRA and provide more details on areas not addressed and to complete the second NRA by August-2024. By presenting new draft legislation to National Assembly, the Ministry of Finance together with the Central Bank of Suriname are working towards strengthening the supervision regime for the financial sector. Also, the Ministry of Justice and Police has presented to the National Assembly draft legislation for strengthening the supervision regime for the gaming sector.

To further strengthen the AML/CFT framework, in particular the implementation of a risk-based supervision framework and to comply with recommendation of the 4th Round MER, in April 2023 we began the Sectoral Risk Analysis (SRA) of the banking sector with technical assistance of OAS-DTOC. The SRA is progressing, and the SRA banking sector report was delivered in February 2024. SRAs of the exchange offices, money transfer offices, insurance and pension funds are expected to be finalized shortly thereafter. The SRA report will contribute to establishing targeted AML/CFT policies and the frequency and intensity of supervision of the banking sector. It would also elaborate on the methodology used to perform the risk analysis. The SRA findings will be reported to CFATF in 2024. A number of projects are underway to strengthen the AML/CFT regime: a new AML/CFT Directive has been issued in March and April 2024 and, supervision legislation (in line with FATF requirements) is pending in the National Assembly), with the technical assistance offered by IMF and UNODC/World Bank.

31. We are committed to improving governance and transparency of the extractive sector . Suriname joined the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2017 and has published reports for fiscal years 2016 to 2020. The reports for the fiscal years 2021–22 will be published in June 2024. We are making progress in implementing EITI’s recommendations including presenting the new mining law to parliament in August 2024, which will reduce room for discretion in investor incentives and strengthen the framework for mining titles. We are also building capacity to strengthen our efforts to legally compel companies in the extractive industry to disclose their beneficial owners.

• IX. Incorporating Climate Considerations in Macroeconomic Policies

32. Suriname is vulnerable to climate change . Despite a low carbon footprint and being a carbon negative country, its dominant economic activity is in the low-lying coastal area. Future climate-related events could disrupt economic activity and cause substantial long-term damage to the economy. Hence, preparedness for climate adaptation is warranted.

33. We are strengthening our institutional framework to enhance climate mitigation and adaptation procedures . We are establishing an environmental authority by transforming the National Institute for Environment and Development (NIMOS) which will have the legislative mandate to build safeguards against climate issues. The authority will have the power to assess (using the environmental impact assessment framework) any public and private capital projects undertaken in the country against any negative externalities arising from climate issues and provide mitigation measures. As a starting point, we have created a repository, Dondru, where information on climate change mitigation and adaptation can be easily assessed for national policy and planning. A strong collaboration between the MoFP and NIMOS is critical to ensure that climate issues are incorporated into Suriname’s fiscal framework. We will publish a public investment management manual with general guidelines for the economic appraisal of investment projects including climate change and flood risk management considerations, and sectoral guidelines for key ministries by December 2024.

34. We are exploring various climate finance options . We are also interested in selling carbon credits under the 2015 UN Paris Agreement scheme (known as Internationally Transferable Mitigation Outcomes—ITMO). We will be seeking technical assistance from our development partners to assess potential benefits and challenges, including as potential guarantors for DNS and identify possible conservation projects as climate protection pledges. For carbon credits, we will begin to approach potential buyers—countries and private institutions.

• X. Statistics

35. We are committed to improving the quality and dissemination of economic data, supported by IMF technical assistance . We have made important progress in this aspect, and we continue to recognize that timeliness of data availability (such as the long lag of publication of annual GDP and the lack of quarterly GDP statistics) remains an issue. To improve capacity of the General Bureau of Statistic, we have increased their budget which allows them to hire additional qualify staffs and recently, the council of ministers have approved a salary increase for their staff. We are also making efforts to improve data quality, especially for the Consumer Price Index (CPI), fiscal sector statistics and public debt data. We will also take steps to publish detailed monthly CPI data including all its subcomponents and data that accurately reports all domestic arrears on a monthly basis. In addition, we will work towards broadening the institutional coverage of fiscal statistics to the public sector to better assess fiscal risks. We will seek technical assistance from our international partners to support our efforts to improve the quality of economic data and statistics.

• XI. Program Monitoring

36. Our economic plan will continue to be monitored through reviews, quantitative and continuous performance criteria, indicative targets, and structural benchmarks . The quantitative performance criteria are presented in Table 1 , standard non-quantitative continuous targets are presented para 34 of the Technical Memorandum of Understanding (TMU) and the structural benchmarks under the program are presented in Table 2 . Program quantitative targets are defined in the attached TMU.

Attachment II. Technical Memorandum of Understanding

This Technical Memorandum of Understanding (TMU) sets out the understanding between the Surinamese authorities and the IMF staff regarding the definition of quantitative performance criteria (QPC) and indicative targets (IT). It also sets out the QPC and IT adjusters and data reporting requirements for the duration of the Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), as described in the authorities’ Letter of Intent (LOI) dated March 20, 2024 and Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP). This TMU describes the methods to be used in assessing the program performance and the information requirements to ensure adequate monitoring of the targets. As is standard under all Fund arrangements, we will consult with the Fund before modifying measures in the LOI/MEFP or adopting new measures that would deviate from the program goals. We are also committed to providing Fund staff with the necessary information for program monitoring .

1. The QPC and IT are shown in Table 1 of the MEFP . Prior actions and structural benchmarks are listed in Table 2 of the MEFP.

2. For program purposes, unless otherwise specified , all foreign currency-related assets, liabilities, and flows will be evaluated at “program accounting exchange rates” as defined below, except for items affecting government fiscal balances, which will be measured at current exchange rates. Unless otherwise indicated, U.S. dollar denominated components of the balance sheet of the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) will be valued at the official exchange rate of the Surinamese dollar to the U.S. dollar of 14.0180 set by the CBvS as of December 31, 2020. Amounts denominated in other currencies will be converted for program purposes into U.S. dollar amounts using the following cross-rates as of December 31, 2020: the Euro valued at 1.2281 U.S. dollars, Pound Sterling valued at 1.3600 U.S. dollars, the Chinese Yuan valued at 0.1532 U.S. dollars, the Special Drawing Right (SDR) valued at 1.4403 U.S. dollars. Official gold holdings were valued at 1,892.0 U.S. dollars per fine ounce.

• I. Quantitative Performance Criteria: Definition of Variables

3. Definition of central government : The central government (CG), for the purposes of the program, consists of the set of institutions and government units currently covered under the state budget. Newly formed public sector entities will be examined and included within the CG perimeter if adjudged to meet the definition of a CG unit per the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014.

4. Definition of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) : State-Owned Enterprises (SOE), for the purposes of the program, consists of the set of corporations that i) the CG is a shareholder or ii) are controlled by the CG directly or indirectly through other government-controlled entities. The control by the CG can be established through legislation or equity participation.

5. Definition of debt . External debt is determined according to the residency criterion (and, as such, would encompass nonresident holdings of Suriname law local currency and foreign currency debt). The term “debt” will be understood to mean a current, i.e., not contingent, liability, created under a contractual arrangement through the provision of value in the form of assets (including currency) or services and which requires the obligor to make one or more payments in the form of assets (including currency) or services, at some future point(s) in time; these payments will discharge the principal and/or interest liabilities incurred under the contract. Debts can take several forms; the primary ones being as follows:

i. loans, i.e., advances of money to the obligor by the lender made on the basis of an undertaking that the obligor will repay the funds in the future (including deposits, bonds, debentures, commercial loans and buyers’ credits) and temporary exchanges of assets that are equivalent to fully collateralized loans under which the obligor is required to repay the funds, and usually pay interest, by repurchasing the collateral from the buyer in the future (such as repurchase agreements and official swap arrangements);

ii. suppliers’ credits, i.e., contracts where the supplier permits the obligor to defer payments until sometime after the date on which the goods are delivered or services are provided; and

iii. leases, i.e., arrangements under which property is provided which the lessee has the right to use for one or more specified period(s) of time that are usually shorter than the total expected service life of the property, while the lessor retains the title to the property. For the purpose of these guidelines, the debt is the PV (at the inception of the lease) of all lease payments expected to be made during the period of the agreement excluding those payments that cover the operation, repair, or maintenance of the property.

6. Under the definition of debt set out in previous paragraph, arrears, penalties, and judicially awarded damages arising from the failure to make payment under a contractual obligation that constitutes debt are debt . Failure to make payment on an obligation that is not considered debt under this definition (e.g., payment on delivery) will not give rise to debt.

7. For program purposes, a debt is considered contracted when all conditions for its entrance into effect have been met, including approval by the National Assembly . Contracting of credit lines with no predetermined disbursement schedules or with multiple disbursements will be also considered as contracting of debt.

8. The fiscal year is the calendar year, starting on January 1 and ending on December 31 .

A. Primary Fiscal Balance (Cash Basis) of Central Government (Floor)

9. Definitions : The primary fiscal balance (cash basis) of the CG is calculated as the cumulative CG interest payments minus total net borrowing requirements from the beginning of the year. Net borrowing requirements (NBR) are measured at official (current) exchange rates and are defined as the sum of:

i. The change in net CBvS credit to the CG, including changes in the government deposit position at the CBvS and excludes any accrued interest;

ii. The change in net credit from depository corporations, which includes changes in CG deposits and the net issuance of treasury bills, lending, and other CG securities held by commercial banks and excludes any accrued interest;

iii. The change in net non-bank credit to the CG, which includes net issuance of Treasury bills and other CG securities to non-banks, and other CG claims and debts vis-à-vis nonbank institutions and excludes any accrued interest;

iv. New external loan disbursements net of external loan amortization including repayment of external arrears;

v. Net sale of government assets (financial including privatization receipts).

Suriname: Total Mineral Revenues of CG

10. Definition : CG Interest payments are defined on a cash basis as interest paid on CG domestic and external debt obligations.

Definition : Mineral revenue is defined as the government’s tax and non-tax proceeds from state-oil company Staatsolie Suriname and from gold companies. This includes corporate tax, wage tax (including old age fund contributions), dividend tax, indirect taxes, dividends, royalties and others. Royalties from small scale gold mining are also included in mineral revenue ( Table 1 ). The QPC for the fiscal balance is calculated based on the projected official exchange rate. Reporting (and adjustments, as defined below) will be made using the current official exchange rate.

11. Reporting : Fiscal data will be provided to the Fund with a lag of no more than six weeks after the end of the month.

12. Adjusters : The floor on the cumulative primary cash balance of the CG will be adjusted:

1. downward (upward) to the full extent that cumulative project loans are more (less) than project loans given in Table 2 .

2. upward to the extent of any rise in mineral revenue above the cumulative baseline projections given in Table 1 .

Suriname: Budget and Project Financing in FX

(Baseline Projection)

B. New Natural Resource Revenue-Collateralized Debt Contracted by or on Behalf of the Central Government and/or State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) (Continuous Ceiling)

13. Definition : The ceiling on new natural resource revenue-collateralized debt (domestic and external) contracted on a gross basis by or on behalf of the CG and/or SOEs will be a continuous performance criterion throughout the program period. Natural resource revenue-collateralized debt is external or domestic debt, which involves creating a security interest, charge or lien over any natural resource, natural resource receivables, or the proceeds from the sale or lease of natural resources. The use of a collection account (e.g., for natural resources receivables or the proceeds of the sale of natural resources) where no charge or lien is created over such account is excluded from this definition. External debt contracted due to external debt restructuring, to be agreed between the authorities and its creditors, is excluded from this definition. The ceiling also applies to prefinancing arrangements (where debt is contracted against future sales of natural resources). The official exchange rate will apply to all non-SRD denominated debt.

14. Reporting : Data will be provided to the IMF on a continuous basis. This would include any new debt contracts that are entered into by the CG and/or SOEs to verify they do not include a security interest, charge, or lien over any natural resource.

C. New Central Government Guaranteed Debt (Continuous Ceiling)

15. Definition : The ceiling on new CG guaranteed debt (domestic and external) will apply to the amount of guarantees issued by the CG for debt contracted by any agency or entity outside the CG. For program purposes, the guarantee of a debt arises from any explicit legal or contractual obligation of CG to service a debt owed by a debtor outside the CG (involving payments in cash or in kind). The official exchange rate will apply to all non-SRD denominated debt.

16. Reporting : Data will be provided to the IMF on a continuous basis.

D. Non-Accumulation of Central Government External Debt Arrears (Continuous Ceiling)

17. Definition : The non-accumulation of arrears by the CG on contractual debt obligations owed to non-resident creditors will be a continuous performance criterion throughout the program period. External payments arrears for program monitoring purposes are defined as external debt obligations of the CG, which either have not been paid within 30 days after the contractual due date, or within the contractual grace period, whichever is longer. Arrears resulting from the nonpayment of debt service, for which a rescheduling or restructuring agreement is being sought, based on good faith negotiations, are excluded from this definition.

18. The stock of external arrears of the CG will be calculated based on the schedule of external payment obligations reported by the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MoFP). Data on external arrears will be reconciled with the relevant creditors, and any necessary adjustments will be incorporated as they occur.

19. Reporting : Data will be provided to the IMF on a continuous basis.

E. Gross Credit to Central Government by the CBvS (Continuous Ceiling)

20. Definitions : The ceiling that applies on the change in gross credit provided to the CG by CBvS (including any provision of overdrafts) will be a continuous performance criterion throughout the program period and will be measured from end-June 2021 for 2021 and from beginning of the year for 2022. Coins and notes issued by the MoFP and claims on IMF related to the valuation of IMF account no 1 and 2 are excluded from the definition. The stock of gross credit will be valued at fair value and at program exchange rates. Changes in the stock of the COVID-19 Fund approved by Parliament in 2020 would constitute gross credit from the CBvS to the CG. Rolling over CG principal and interest payments due to the CBvS does not constitute gross credit.

21. Reporting : Data will be provided to the IMF on a continuous basis.

F. Net International Reserves of the CBvS (Floor)

22. Definitions : The floor applies to cumulative flows from the beginning of the year (end-December level of NIR of the previous year). For program monitoring purposes, net international reserves (NIR) of the CBvS are defined as the U.S. dollar value of the difference between reserve assets and reserve liabilities, as defined in what follows.

Reserve assets are readily available claims on nonresidents denominated in foreign convertible currencies. They include: (i) foreign exchange (foreign currency cash, deposits with foreign correspondents, holdings of foreign securities), (ii) monetary gold, (iii) IMF reserve position, and (iv) SDR holdings. Excluded from foreign assets are any assets that are pledged, collateralized, or otherwise encumbered (e.g., pledged as collateral for foreign loans or through forward contracts; ring-fenced reserves from domestic banks’ foreign reserve requirements), CBvS claims on resident banks and nonbanks, claims in foreign exchange arising from derivatives in foreign currencies vis-à-vis domestic currency (such as futures, forwards, swaps, and options), precious metals other than monetary gold, assets in nonconvertible currencies, illiquid swaps, and any reserve assets that are not readily available for intervention in the foreign exchange market.

Reserve liabilities are defined as: (i) all short-term foreign liabilities of the CBvS vis-à-vis nonresidents denominated in convertible foreign currencies with an original maturity of one year or less; (ii) all outstanding credit from the IMF resulting from purchases; (iii) the nominal value of all derivative positions (including swaps, options, forwards, and futures) of the CBvS, implying the sale of foreign currency or other reserve assets; and (iv) all foreign exchange liabilities of the CBvS to resident entities (e.g., claims in foreign exchange of domestic banks, non-ring-fenced reserve requirements of domestic banks on their foreign currency deposits, reserve requirements of domestic banks on their foreign currency deposits that are ring-fenced in Suriname’s sovereign bond in the amount of USD 10.283 million, and CBvS credits in foreign exchange from the domestic market) excluding foreign exchange liabilities to the CG.

Suriname: International Reserves

(USD million, unless otherwise specified)

23. Reporting : Data on foreign reserves and the foreign exchange cash flow will be provided by the CBvS to the Fund once a week. Data on the statistics indicated in Table 3 will be provided to the Fund on a monthly basis, in both official and program exchange rates, with a lag of no more than two weeks after the end of the month. At each program test date, the quarterly data on net international reserves submitted by the CBvS to the IMF will be audited by the CBvS external auditors in accordance with International Standards on Auditing, to ensure conformity with the program definition and calculation methods. Reports from the external auditors should be submitted to the CBvS, with a copy to the IMF, no later than 60 days after each test date. Data on total foreign exchange mineral revenue will be provided by the government to the IMF on a weekly basis. Inflows of the government’s foreign exchange mineral revenue to the CBvS will be monitored as part of the weekly reporting of CBvS purchases and sales of foreign currency.

24. Adjusters : NIR targets will be adjusted:

1. upward (downward) by the full amount of the cumulative surplus (shortfall) in program loan disbursements from IFIs relative to the baseline projections reported in Table 2 . Program loan disbursements are defined as external loan disbursements from official creditors that are usable for the financing of the CG.

2. upward (downward) by the full amount of the cumulative surplus (shortfall) in loans from official bilateral and private creditors (including international capital markets) relative to the baseline projections reported in Table 2 .

3. upward (downward) by the full amount of the cumulative surplus (shortfall) in the sum of the government’s total mineral and other revenues received in foreign exchange that are transferred to the CG account at the CBvS, with the exemption of pending transfers of these funds to the foreign bank account of the CBvS, relative to baseline projections reported in Table 4 . Mineral revenue in FX is defined as the government’s FX tax and non-tax proceeds from state-oil company Staatsolie Suriname and from gold companies. This includes corporate tax, wage tax (including old age fund contributions), dividend tax, indirect taxes, dividends, royalties and others. Royalties from small scale gold mining are also included in mineral revenue. Other FX revenues of the CG are defined as any revenues in foreign exchange other than mineral revenue as defined above.

4. downward (upward) by the full amount of the cumulative surplus (shortfall) in CG and CBvS’s debt service payments in foreign exchange relative to baseline projections reported in Table 5 .

5. downward by the amount of FX sales by the CBvS insofar as these sales occur via competitive auctions in response to the intraday depreciation in the exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar that is more than 2 percent and are less than USD 2 million per day. This adjustor is capped at USD 20 million per quarter.

Suriname: Total FX Mineral Revenue received by the Government and Other FX Revenues of CG Transferred to CBvS

Suriname: FX Debt Service Payments by the Central Government and CBvS

G. Net Domestic Assets of the BvS

25. Definitions : The ceiling applies to cumulative flows from the beginning of the year. The CBvS’ net domestic assets (NDA) are defined as the difference between reserve money (as defined below) and net foreign assets (NFA, as defined below). Items in foreign currencies will be valued at fair value and at program exchange rates. Thus defined, the stock of NDA amounted to SRD 8,777.1 million as of December 31, 2020 ( Table 6 ).

Reserve money at program exchange rates is defined as currency in circulation, commercial banks’ deposits in correspondent accounts at the CBvS, and statutory cash reserve requirements against prescribed liabilities in SRDs and foreign currency held by commercial banks at the CBvS, other commercial banks’ deposits at the CBvS in national and foreign currency, other demand deposits in national and foreign currency, and gold certificates ( Table 6 ). Central bank certificates issued to retail investors as part of its open market operations to absorb liquidity are excluded from reserve money. Reserve money excludes balances in deposit auctions and commercial banks’ term deposits at the CBvS. The definition is consistent with the measure of reserve money published on the CBvS’ website. As of December 31, 2020, reserve money amounted to SRD 12,816.6 million.

The value of NFA at program exchange rates is calculated as the difference between foreign assets and foreign liabilities, defined as follows:

Foreign assets are claims on nonresidents denominated in foreign currencies. They include foreign exchange (foreign currency cash, deposits with foreign correspondents, holdings of foreign securities), monetary gold, IMF reserve position, and SDR holdings.

Foreign liabilities are defined as liabilities of the CBvS vis-à-vis nonresidents denominated in foreign currencies; all outstanding credit from the IMF resulting from purchases under arrangements and SDR allocation; the nominal value of all derivative positions (including swaps, options, forwards, and futures) of the CBvS, implying the sale of foreign currency or other reserve assets.

Suriname: NFA, NDA, and Reserve Money

26. Thus defined , NFA amounted to SRD 4,039.5 million as of December 31, 2020 ( Table 6 ).

27. Reporting : Data will be provided to the IMF with a lag of no more than two weeks after the end of the month. At each program test date, the quarterly data on net domestic assets submitted by the CBvS to the IMF will be reviewed by the CBvS external auditors, to ensure conformity with the program definition and calculation methods. Reports should be submitted to the CBvS, with a copy to the IMF, no later than 60 days after each test date.

28. Adjusters : Consistent with the NIR target adjustment mechanism defined above, NDA targets will be adjusted:

1. downward (upward) by the full amount of the cumulative surplus (shortfall) in program loan disbursements from IFIs relative to the baseline projections reported in Table 2 .

2. downward (upward) by the full amount of the cumulative surplus (shortfall) in loans from official bilateral and private creditors (including international capital markets) relative to the baseline projections reported in Table 2 .

3. downward (upward) by the full amount of the cumulative surplus (shortfall) in the sum of the government’s total mineral and other revenues received in foreign exchange that are transferred to the CG account at the CBvS, with the exemption of pending transfers of these funds to the foreign bank account of the CBvS, relative to baseline projections reported in Table 4 (see definition in section F). Mineral revenue in FX is defined as the government’s FX tax and non-tax proceeds from state-oil company Staatsolie Suriname and from gold companies. This includes corporate tax, wage tax (including old age fund contributions), dividend tax, indirect taxes, dividends, royalties and others. Royalties from small scale gold mining are also included in mineral revenue. Other FX revenues of the CG are defined as any revenues in foreign exchange other than mineral revenue as defined above.

4. upward (downward) by the full amount of the cumulative surplus (shortfall) in CG and CBvS’s debt service payments in foreign exchange relative to baseline projections reported in Table 5 .

5. Downward by the full amount of the CBvS’ cumulative purchases of foreign exchange from the market relative to the baseline projections reported in Table 7 .

29. For the purposes of calculating adjusters, these flows will be valued at program exchange rates .

H. Direct Purchases/Sales of FX by the CBvS and/or Central Government from/to SOEs and Private Sector (Continuous Ceiling)

30. Definitions : The ceiling on direct purchases/sales of FX by the CBvS and/or central government from/to SOEs and private sector will be a continuous performance criterion throughout the program period. The following purchases/sales of FX by the CBvS from/to the FX market are excluded from this definition:

Purchases/sales of FX with banks and cambios undertaken through fixed allotment/variable price auctions.

Sales of FX to (former) CBvS employees for children’s overseas study and livelihood purposes, overseas pension transfers, overseas salary transfers and overseas travel expenses up to a maximum amount of USD 100,000 per quarter or an equivalent thereof in another convertible currency.

Purchases of EUR banknotes from banks and cambios in exchange for USD banknotes.

Sales of FX by mineral companies associated with these companies’ tax or non-tax obligations to the central government.

Suriname: FX Purchases by CBvS

31. Reporting : Data on direct purchases/sales of FX by the CBvS and/or central government from/to SOEs and private sector will be provided by the CBvS to the Fund daily.

I. Central Government Mineral Revenue in Local Currency (Ceiling)

32. Definition : The ceiling on central government mineral revenue in local currency will be assessed on cumulative basis and specified in U.S. dollars (converted at the weighted average SRD/U.S. dollar exchange rate published by the CBvS at the end of the previous working day). For purposes of this performance criterion, central government mineral revenue is defined as the government’s tax and non-tax cash revenue from the state-oil company Staatsolie Suriname and from large- and small-scale gold companies. This revenue includes corporate tax, indirect taxes, dividends, royalties and other mineral revenue. The following mineral revenue is excluded from this definition: (i) wage taxes (including old age fund contributions); (ii) consent right fees; (iii) dividend tax; and (iv) Staatsolie Suriname’s tax and non-tax obligations to the government netted out against accounts receivable from other state-owned enterprises.

33. Reporting : Data on central government foreign and local currency tax and non-tax mineral revenue as defined above will be submitted on a weekly basis by revenue item, type of commodity and source counterparty (aggregated for small-scale gold companies). Where the local currency mineral revenue is from a prior sale of mineral companies’ FX-denominated tax or non-tax obligations to the central government, the data will additionally include the sale transactions by date and counterparty, including the exchange rate and any margins or fees applied. Data will be provided to the IMF within 3 working days of the end of each week.

• II. Other Continuous Performance Criteria

34. During the period of the Arrangement under the EFF, Suriname will not : (i) impose or intensify restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions; (ii) introduce or modify multiple currency practices; (iii) conclude bilateral payments agreements that are inconsistent with Article VIII; and (iv) impose or intensify import restrictions for balance of payments reasons.

• III. Indicative Targets: Definition of Variables

J. Social Spending of Central Government (Floor)

35. Definition : Social spending of central government includes all the spending of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Public Housing (Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Volkshuisvesting) on social protection programs. The floor on CG social spending is cumulative from the beginning of the year and is defined as the sum of spending on the following cash transfer programs:

General old-age pension.

General child benefit.

Financial assistance for persons with disabilities.

Financial assistance for weak households.

Social beneficiary program.

36. Reporting : Data will be provided to the IMF with a lag of no more than six weeks after the end of the quarter.

K. Stock of Value added Tax Refunds Ourstanding (Ceiling)

37. Definition : The stock of value added tax (VAT) refunds outstanding will be assessed as total cumulative VAT refund claims which have not yet been paid or declined by the Tax Authority of Suriname (Belastingdienst Suriname). The stock is cumulative from the beginning of 2023. A claim for a refund will be assessed as existing once a credit return is filed. The stock of VAT refunds outstanding will exclude interest payable on approved delayed refunds and refunds due to non-VAT registrants. A VAT refund claim is deemed to be paid if settled against outstanding payable VAT returns or if settled against non-VAT revenue arrears.

38. Reporting : Data will be provided to the IMF with a lag of no more than six weeks after the end of the quarter.

• IV. Information Requirements

39. In accordance with IMF Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM) 2014 and Public Sector Debt Guide for compilers and users total gross debt covers all liabilities that are debt instruments . A debt instrument is defined as a financial claim that requires payment(s) of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date, or dates, in the future. The following instruments are considered debt instruments:

Special drawing rights (SDRs);

Currency and deposits;

Debt securities;

Insurance, pension, and standardized guarantee schemes; and

Other accounts payable.

40. All liabilities included in the GFSM balance sheet are considered debt, except for liabilities in the form of equity and investment fund shares and financial derivatives and employee stock options. Equity and investment fund shares are not debt instruments because they do not require the payment of principal or interest . For the same reason, financial derivatives are not considered debt liabilities because no principal is advanced that is required to be repaid, and no interest accrues on any financial derivative instrument.

41. For the purpose of the program , Suriname Budgetary Central government (BCG) debt includes the following instruments:

Debt Securities including short term liquidity instruments;

Loans (including overdraft in bank accounts);

Other Accounts Payables.

42. Any liabilities issued by the BCG, held as an asset by other entity of the BCG should be netted out . Since the consolidation is done at the level of BCG, central bank lending to the government is included in the stock of BCG debt.

43 . To ensure adequate monitoring of economic variables and reforms, the authorities will provide the following information:

44. Daily/Semi-weekly

Official nominal exchange rates.

Volumes and nominal exchange rates (inclusive of any fees, commission, or other types of charge) of foreign exchange transactions (purchases and sales) by banks and cambios.

Volumes and nominal exchange rates of direct purchases/sales of foreign exchange by the CBvS and/or central government from/to SOEs and private sector.

Monitoring Template IMF (no. 2541) – Deposits including largest 5 depositors in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within one week after the reporting period.

Monitoring Template IMF (no. 26) – Liquid assets held by banks in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within one week after the reporting period.

Liquidity Coverage SRD template (no. 30) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within one week after the reporting period.

Net Foreign Currency Position (Net Open Position) template (no. 27) for banks in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework. For cambios this ratio will also be reported, in both cases within one week after the reporting period.

45. Weekly/bi-weekly

CBvS liquidity assistance to financial institutions, by institution.

Reports on large exposures by bank that are equal or exceed 10 percent of Tier 1 Capital (template no. 28) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within two weeks after the reporting period.

Large deposits that are equal or exceed 10 percent of Tier 1 Capital (template no. 29) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within two weeks after the reporting period.

Liquidity forecast and realization (templates no. 15, 17 and 19) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within two weeks after the reporting period.

Liquidity stress testing (templates no. 10–13) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within two weeks after the reporting period.

Lending availability in SRD and USD (templates no. 21 and 22) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within two weeks after the reporting period.

Table on monitoring of banking sector benchmarks in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework on a bi-weekly basis, within two weeks after the reporting period.

CBvS purchases and sales of foreign currency (FX cash flow table). FX auction amounts, auction bids, highest and lowest prices, cut-off and weighted average prices, FX rate before the auction.

Information on auction results for open market operations no later than two days after the auctions, including on: instrument type, total open market operations auction volume, settlement date, expiration date, the number of total bids, total amount of bids, the number of total allocated bids, total amount of allocated bids, the minimum bid rate, the cut-off interest rate, the highest bid rate, and the weighted average allotted interest rate.

Weekly submission of daily transactions and rates for the following: interest rates on domestic debt securities by maturity; required and excess reserves of the banking sector in local and foreign currency; total liquidity assistance to banks through normal lending operations, standing facilities, and ELA. Interest rates on OMOs, standing facilities, and ELA by maturity.

Weekly submission of daily mineral tax and non-tax revenue of major commodity companies and small gold miners, by revenue item and type of commodity (and separately for large-scale gold companies and small-scale gold miners). Data is to be provided within 3 working days of the end of each week.

46. Monthly

CG operations (revenues and expenditure) data in GFS format within six weeks of the end of the month.

CG detailed revenues data from the tax office by revenue category, including: (i) direct tax by item, (ii) indirect tax by item, and (iii) non-tax revenues by item within six weeks of the end of the month.

Number of public civil servants and total wage bill by Ministry within six weeks of the end of the month.

CG authorized spending data by Ministry within four weeks of the end of the month.

CG subsidies data by Ministry and programs within six weeks of the end of the month.

CG balance from the financing side by sources and by currency, with a lag of no more than six weeks after the end of the month.

CG domestic and external debt stock, including by: (i) creditor, (ii) currency, (iii) instrument; (iv) collateralized by natural resources revenue; and (v) guaranteed. The reporting lag should not exceed four weeks after the end of the month.

Amortization payments of CG and government guaranteed debt by creditor, instrument, and currency. In the case of issuance of government guaranteed debt, the name of the guaranteed individual/institution should be provided. The reporting lag should not exceed four weeks after the end of the month.

Interest payments and fees on CG and government guaranteed debt by creditor, instrument, and currency. The reporting lag should not exceed four weeks after the end of the month.

Stock of CG expenditure arrears, separately including payment of existing arrears and creation of new domestic arrears including the currency of the arrears. The reporting lag should not exceed four weeks after the end of the month.

Stock of CG domestic and external debt arrears, including the currency of arrears. The reporting lag should not exceed two weeks after the end of the month.

New debt contracts (official or private) entered into by the CG and/or SOEs. The reporting lag should not exceed two weeks after the end of the month.

Holdings of domestic T-notes and T-bills (SRD-denominated and foreign currency-denominated) by investor, maturity, and currency. The reporting lag should not exceed four weeks after the end of the month.

Legal measures that affect the revenue of the CG, such as tax rates, import tariffs, and exemptions. The reporting lag should not exceed six weeks after the end of the month.

Balance sheet of the CBvS within two weeks of end of the month.

A summary of the monetary survey of the banking system (including CBvS and deposit-taking institutions). This information should be received with a lag of no more than six weeks after the end of the month.

Income statement of the CBvS on a cash and accrual basis, with a lag of no more than three weeks from the end of the month.

Projections of CBvS purchases and sales of foreign currency (FX cash flow table, 12 months ahead).

Information on interconnectedness of the financial sector and related party lending (templates no. 6 and 37) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within four weeks after the end of the month.

The deposit funding structure of the banks (template no.8) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within four weeks after the end of the month.

Information on measures taken by the banks in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (templates no.33–35), within four weeks after the end of the month.

Banks’ claims on the government and State-owned Entities with breakdown by type (debt types, loan types including the gross amount of overdrafts) within four weeks after the end of the month.

The Monthly Returns as reported to the CBvS, within four weeks of the end of the month.

A written update on the progress of the Asset Quality Review (until the review has been concluded) that includes any issues encountered by CBvS and/or their advisor and any remedial actions taken.

Data on foreign reserve assets and foreign reserve liabilities for NIR target purposes ( Table 2 ) evaluated at both official and program exchange rates, within two weeks of the end of the month.

Data on NDA, NFA, and reserve money ( Table 4 ) evaluated at both official and program exchange rates, within two weeks of the end of the months.

Data on foreign reserve assets split into ring-fenced and non-ring-fenced assets evaluation at official exchange rates, within two weeks of the end of the months.

Consumer price index, including by sub-components of the CPI index within four weeks after the end of the month.

Cash flow of EBS showing government transfers to cover the gap between the average electricity tariff and EBS recovery cost within eight weeks after the end of the month.

Electricity average tariff, total electricity consumption volume, total billing and amount collected (in SRD) to be provided by consumption categories (household, commercial, and industrial) and by consumption volume. This information should be received with a lag of no more than eight weeks after the end of the month.

Electricity costs including: (i) production costs: fuel costs, Staatsolie electricity costs, hydropower costs, separately, (ii) other operational costs: personnel costs and financing costs, and (iii) investment costs. This information should be received with a lag of no more than eight weeks after the end of the month.

EBS committed and executed payments to Staatsolie for purchases of fuel and electricity. This information should be received with a lag of no more than eight weeks after the end of the month.

47. Quarterly

Detailed balance of payments data within 60 days after the end of the quarter.

Detailed International Investment Position data within two months after the end of the quarter.

Projections regarding banks’ balance sheets and profit and loss statement (template no. 2 and 3) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within four4 weeks after the end of the quarter.

Liquidity forecast and realization (templates no. 14, 16 and 18) in accordance with the Enhanced Supervision framework, within four weeks after the end of the quarter.

Progress reports of the banks on inspection items identified by CBvS, within six weeks after the end of the quarter.

A full set of quarterly Financial Soundness Indicators (FSI) calculated by the CBvS within 60 days after the end of the quarter.

CG spending on social protection programs, by program, as defined for the indicative target on social spending. The reporting lag should not exceed six weeks after the end of the quarter.

Financial statements of EBS within six months of year end.

Nominal GDP and real GDP within eight months of year end.

Labor market statistics (including the unemployment rate and labor participation ratio) within twelve months of the year end.

The remainder of the underperformance is due to adjusters – higher-than-expected mineral revenues and lower-than-expected project finance disbursements.

Around 4 percent of workers remain unregistered at end-March.

Late filing of tax returns and failure to pay due in June 2024 (for May 2024) and onwards will incur penalties and interest. All outstanding returns for the taxable periods January 2023 to April 2024 will have until June 30 to file and pay/or arrange for payment of VAT without penalties and interest. After that date, penalties and interest will be strictly applied.

There was an uptick in the number of beneficiaries in March that the MoFP wanted to verify as legitimate before processing the payment,

To safeguard public investment, climate adaptation measures are critical for Suriname given its vulnerability to natural disaster shocks. For instance, about 30 percent of the landscape is within 0 to 3 meters above sea level, making it vulnerable to coastal flooding.

The program parameters for GFN are under 12 percent of GDP in any year, and under 9 percent on average over the medium- to long-term.

The CBvS’ standing lending and intraday facilities are in place to help banks cover sudden short-term liquidity gaps. Additionally, banks can request from the CBvS to have access to their reserve averaging facility to meet their short-term liquidity needs. However, these facilities are underused (the SLF was last used in April 2023). Instead, banks borrow bilaterally from other banks through FX/SRD swaps.

The authorities are also undertaking a full review of the FX Regulation of 1947 and are in discussions with staff on the scope of possible capacity development support in this area.

Loan loss provisions are falling because of a reduction in legacy NPLs of one systemically important bank and reduction in government arrears for most banks.

Suriname received low effectiveness rating by CFATF in all areas except one. Negative assessment ratings can result in reputational risks and have a negative impact on correspondent banking relationships (CBRs).

Rising yields on USD assets are prompting banks to transfers more FX to correspondent banks abroad and leading to a slower accumulation of reserves despite a higher CA balance. Project-related external financing flows at end-2023 are expected to unwind in the second half of 2024 as government uses the accumulated USD dollar deposits for payments to suppliers. The government is also clearing domestic and external supplier arrears, reducing both the SRD and USD denominated deposits at the central bank. In addition, with the m-o-m inflation is now close to the long-term inflation target, interest rates on open market instruments are not showing any signs of decline from an average of 40 percent. Broad money and reserve money are decreasing in real terms, private sector credit growth has slowed down, and the exchange rate has appreciated sharply in recent months that could be a risk to financial stability amid long forex positions of the banks. All these factors prompt a recalibration of both NIR and NDA targets.

The IDB commits to providing budget support of at least USD 150 million in 2024 conditional on the IMF program review and its own conditionality. Similarly, the CDB will provide USD 25 million in budget support in 2025. Other IFIs commit to disbursing agreed project loans conditional on the IMF program review and their own conditionality.

Negotiations with private external creditors for restructuring the non-ECA backed loans are ongoing and are expected to be finalized by end-June. Before the bond exchange, the Eurobonds comprised 95 percent of the total external debts with private external creditors (see Table 1 ).

In 2022, royalty revenue is estimated to be 18 percent of the total mining revenue.

Recording of supplier arrears has improved with the help of Fund TA. Estimates of the monthly stock of other accounts payable and supplier arrears (more than 90 days past the due date) are now available since January 2022.

The external sector assessment is based on Staff’s estimates.

A simple regression using quarterly data of percentage change in imports on lag of percentage change in net remittances yields a marginally negative and insignificant coefficient. The analysis is robust to increasing the lags and using inward rather than net remittances.

The Risk Assessment Matrix (RAM) shows events that could materially alter the baseline path. The relative likelihood is the staff’s subjective assessment of the risks surrounding the baseline (“low” is meant to indicate a probability below 10 percent, “medium” a probability between 10 and 30 percent, and “high” a probability between 30 and 50 percent). The RAM reflects staff views on the source of risks and overall level of concern as of the time of discussions with the authorities. Non-mutually exclusive risks may interact and materialize jointly. The conjunctural shocks and scenarios highlight risks that may materialize over a shorter horizon (between 12 to 18 months) given the current baseline. Structural risks are those that are likely to remain salient over a longer horizon.

These concern central government debt to a local bank, serviced through an escrow account funded directly by royalty payments by an international gold mining company.

Other IMF Content

• Suriname: Third Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Suriname
• Suriname: First Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility, and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Suriname
• Suriname: Fifth Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility, Requests for Modification of Performance Criteria, Waivers of Nonobservance of a Performance Criterion, and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff...
• Suriname: Fourth Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility, Requests for Extension of the Arrangement, Augmentation of Access, Modification of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff...
• Suriname: Second Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility, Requests for Rephasing and Reduction of Access, Waivers of nonobservance of Performance Criteria and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff Report;...
• Ecuador: Sixth Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Ecuador
• Sri Lanka: Sixth Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility and Requests for Waiver of Nonobservance and Modification of Performance Criterion-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Sri...
• Republic of Moldova: Staff Report for the 2020 Article IV Consultation and Sixth Reviews Under the Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility Arrangements—Press Releases; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic...
• Ukraine: First Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Ukraine
• Ecuador: Request for an Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Ecuador

Other Publishers

Asian development bank.

• Renewable Energy Tariffs and Incentives in Indonesia: Review and Recommendations
• A Comparative Analysis of Tax Administration in Asia and the Pacific: Sixth Edition
• Financial Sector Development Partnership Special Fund and Financial Sector Development Partnership Fund 2022 Annual Report
• ADB South Asia Working Paper Series No. 60-Tariff Appraisal Study: Balancing Sustainability and Efficiency with Inclusive Access
• Financial Sector Development Partnership Special Fund and Financial Sector Development Partnership Fund 2021 Annual Report
• Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund Annual Report 2019
• Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific Annual Report 2022
• Private Sector Operations in 2020: Report on Development Effectiveness

Inter-American Development Bank

• Evaluation Report: An Evaluation of UNDP Participation in the Execution of Bank-funded Operations
• Suriname: Building Effective Governments; Executive Summaries of the Caribbean Country Studies
• IDB Group Country Profile: Suriname 2005-2019
• Governance in Suriname
• Beleid en Bestuur in Suriname
• Development Challenges in Suriname
• Country Program Evaluation: Suriname (1980-2004)
• Towards an Alternative Development Model in Suriname
• Analysis of Agricultural Policies in Suriname
• Returns to Education in Suriname

The World Bank

• Address Presenting the Sixth Annual Report
• Suriname Education Management Information Systems: SABER Country Report 2016.
• International Debt Statistics 2021
• Analysis of Recipient Executed Trust Funds
• The World Bank Annual Report 2003: Volume 1 Year in Review, Volume 2 Financial Statements and Appendixes
• Togo: Joint Bank-Fund Debt Sustainability Analysis, 2018 Update.
• Cash Management: How Do Countries Perform Sound Practices?
• Financial Viability of the Electricity Sector in Developing Countries: Recent Trends and Effectiveness of World Bank Interventions
• FONDEN: Mexico's Natural Disaster Fund--A Review.
• Joint Press Conference on COVID-19 by IMF Managing Director and World Bank Group President
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Table of Contents

• Annex II. External Sector Assessment1
• Annex III. Risk Assessment Matrix1
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