An IMF mission will review Guatemala’s recent economic performance – 2024-02-21 12:24:06

The head of mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Maria Oliva Armengol, will make an official visit to learn regarding the balance of the country’s main macroeconomic indicators, such as public debt and the business climate, as well as the political situation. among other topics.

The team of technicians also has several meetings planned with the government authorities that took office last January and with representatives of the private sector, between February 26 and March 1.

Álvaro González Ricci, president of the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat), confirmed that notification of the visit of the staff of the international organization, and clarified that this is a preview of the so-called review of Chapter IV, for which there is no exact date, but it might be between March and June.

“We are going to have a good preamble regarding the opinion that they will have of the new government, since they come to verify figures and talk with various actors” regarding national events, he pointed out.

Every year, the IMF carries out the so-called Chapter IV review of Guatemala, which consists of verifying the performance of the main indicators of macroeconomic and fiscal policy and the national financial system.

The president of the central bank pointed out that, in addition, representatives of country risk rating agencies and other international financial organizations are constantly attended to and recently, a group from Banco Santander visited Guatemala.

Notes update

The previous week, the rating agencies Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings confirmed the notes for Guatemala, this following the result of the political-economic cycle that Guatemala experienced in 2023.

The rating agency Moody’s reported that the Ba1/Stable rating for Guatemala is maintained and Fitch, that Guatemala’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) remains at “BB” with a stable outlook.

Among Fitch’s considerations, this is supported by a history of macroeconomic stability and conservative fiscal policies that have resulted in low debt and solid external liquidity.

“These strengths are balanced by a low income-to-GDP ratio that restricts fiscal flexibility, governance and human development indicators that compare unfavorably with those in the “BB” category, as well as political stagnation that limits the sovereign’s ability to address these weaknesses,” said the rating agency.

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