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| Africa North |
| IMF commends increased political stability in Algeria |
| 2006-10-27 |
| The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Algeria, headed by Erik de Vrijer, commended the improved political stability of Algeria, but warned economic growth remains fragile as it fully relies on oil receipts in the report on the Article IV consultations. The institution stressed that public investment is still the driving force behind expansion of non-hydrocarbon activity, while the production of hydrocarbons has slowed for technical reasons. The IMF said the country's real economic growth remains fragile and predicted it will reach 3% this year (4.5 per cent for the non-hydrocarbon sector), which falls short of the government target of 5% growth. The IMF recommended appropriate fiscal policy together with a prudent monetary policy to avoid increase of inflationary pressure. It feels Algeria must advance with structural reforms, particularly speeding up the privatisation process and modernising the financial sector to transition to an open market economy and improve the private investment climate. |
| Posted by:Fred |