ANNUAL REPORT ON EXCHANGE ARRANGEMENTS AND EXCHANGE RESTRICTIONS 2017 MCP Multiple currency practice MERCOSUR Southern Cone Common Market (Argentina,Brazil,Paraguay,Uruguay Most favored natior MOF Ministry of finance NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement OECD Organiation for Economic Cooperation and Developmen OECS OGL Open general license oTc Over the counter PACER Pacific Agreement on Closer economic Relations (of the Pacific islands Forum Australia,Cook Islands,Fiji,Kiribati,Marshall Islands,Micronesia,Nauru,New Zealand,Niue,Palau,Papua New Guinea,Samoa,Solomon Islands,Tonga,Tuvalu Vanuatu PICTA ment (of the Pacific Islands Forum)Cook auru,Niue,Palau,Papua New RCPSFM Regional Council on Publ RIFF Integration ionForum (fomerly Cros-Border Initiative) SADC Seychelles.South Africa Swaziland.Tanzania.Zambia Zimbabwe) SDR UCITS Undertakings for the Collective Investment of Transferable Securities UDEAC UN United nations UNSO UN Security Council VAT Value-added WAEMU Eoonomic nd Monctary ion WAMU;mmber of the WAMA West African Monetary Agency (formerly WACH WAMZ West African Monetary Zone W-ERM II Exchange rate mechanism (of the WAMZ) World Trade Organization OInternational Monetary Fund.Not for Redistribution
ANNUAL REPORT ON EXCHANGE ARRANGEMENTS AND EXCHANGE RESTRICTIONS 2017 International Monetary Fund | October 2017 vii MCP Multiple currency practice MERCOSUR Southern Cone Common Market (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay) MFN Most favored nation MOF Ministry of finance NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECS Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) OGL Open general license OTC Over the counter PACER Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (of the Pacific Islands Forum; Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) PICTA Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (of the Pacific Islands Forum); Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) RCPSFM Regional Council on Public Savings and Financial Markets (an institution of WAEMU countries that is involved in issuance and marketing of securities authorization) RIFF Regional Integration Facilitation Forum (formerly Cross-Border Initiative); Burundi, Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) SACU Southern African Customs Union (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland) SADC Southern Africa Development Community (Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe) SDR Special drawing right UCITS Undertakings for the Collective Investment of Transferable Securities UDEAC Central African Customs and Economic Union (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon) UN United Nations UNSC UN Security Council VAT Value-added tax WAEMU West African Economic and Monetary Union (formerly WAMU; members of the BCEAO) WAMA West African Monetary Agency (formerly WACH) WAMZ West African Monetary Zone W-ERM II Exchange rate mechanism (of the WAMZ) WTO World Trade Organization ©International Monetary Fund. Not for Redistribution
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ANNUAL REPORT ON EXCHANGE ARRANGEMENTS AND EXCHANGE RESTRICTIONS 2017 Overview (AREAER) nd tade capital contros of all IMF member countries.The AREAER reports on resrictions in effect under Article XIV,Scction 2,of the IMFs Articles of Agreement in accordance with Section 3 of Article XIV,which des into mation relaring to paragraph ent to notify the IMF of th exchang arrangement it intends toapply and any changes in that arrangement. The AREAER also providesa des scription of glo hange and trade systems the IMF's jurisdict ion in with Article VII,Sections 2(a)and 3.The report also provides information on the operation of foreign controls on capital tra on,t rep rts on Furthermore,the AREAER provides xchange rate arrangements of jure arrangements a s base and are c arrangements,as analyzed by the IMF staff,which may differ from announced(de jure methodology and the characteristics of the categories are described in the compilation Table1.Classification of Exchange RateArrangements Type Categories Hard pegs Exchange Soft pegs ctbgt Cne Free foating This .2009.1d, iatioasaaa In addition to the 189 IMF member intries,the rep nen Hong Kong SAR(China)well as Aruba The IMFs Artides of Agreer ww.imf.org/extemnal/pub/ft/aa/index.htm. The infor and MCPs sists of verbati quotes from each ry's most n t published IMF staf otes have been of the om IMF which Intemnational Monetary Fund l October 2017 1 OInternational Monetary Fund.Not for Redistribution
ANNUAL REPORT ON EXCHANGE ARRANGEMENTS AND EXCHANGE RESTRICTIONS 2017 International Monetary Fund | October 2017 1 Overview This is the 68th issue of the Annual Report on Exchange Arrangements and Exchange Restrictions (AREAER), which provides a yearly description of the foreign exchange arrangements, exchange and trade systems, and capital controls of all IMF member countries.¹ The AREAER reports on restrictions in effect under Article XIV, Section 2, of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement in accordance with Section 3 of Article XIV, which mandates annual reporting on such restrictions.² It also provides information relating to paragraph 25 of the 2012 Integrated Surveillance Decision, which restates the obligation of each member country under the IMF’s Articles of Agreement to notify the IMF of the exchange arrangement it intends to apply and any changes in that arrangement.³ The AREAER also provides a description of global exchange and trade systems. It covers restrictions on current international payments and transfers and multiple currency practices (MCPs) maintained under Article XIV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement as well as those subject to the IMF’s jurisdiction in accordance with Article VIII, Sections 2(a) and 3.4 The report also provides information on the operation of foreign exchange markets, controls on international trade, controls on capital transactions, and measures implemented in the financial sector, including prudential measures. In addition, the AREAER reports on exchange measures imposed by member countries solely for national and/or international security reasons, including those reported to the IMF in accordance with relevant decisions by the IMF Executive Board.5 Furthermore, the AREAER provides information on exchange rate arrangements of member countries: the de jure arrangements as described by the countries and the de facto arrangements, which are classified into 10 categories (Table 1). This classification is based on the information available on members’ de facto arrangements, as analyzed by the IMF staff, which may differ from countries’ officially announced (de jure) arrangements. The methodology and the characteristics of the categories are described in the compilation guide included in this report. Table 1. Classifi cation of Exchange Rate Arrangements Type Categories Hard pegs Exchange arrangement with no separate legal tender Currency board arrangement Soft pegs Conventional pegged arrangement Pegged exchange rate within horizontal bands Stabilized arrangement Crawling peg Crawl-like arrangement Floating regimes (marketdetermined rates) Floating Free fl oating Residual Other managed arrangement Note: This methodology became effective February 2, 2009, and reflects an attempt to provide greater consistency and objectivity of exchange rate classifications across countries and to improve the transparency of the IMF’s bilateral and multilateral surveillance in this area. ¹ In addition to the 189 IMF member countries, the report includes information on Hong Kong SAR (China) as well as Aruba and Curaçao and Sint Maarten (both in the Kingdom of the Netherlands). ² The IMF’s Articles of Agreement are available at www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/aa/index.htm. ³ www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2012/pn1289.htm. 4 The information on restrictions and MCPs consists of verbatim quotes from each country’s most recent published IMF staff report as of December 31, 2016. In cases in which the information is drawn from IMF staff reports that have not been made public, the quotes have been included with the express consent of the member country. In the absence of such consent, the relevant information is reported as “not publicly available.” Any changes to these restrictions and MCPs implemented after the relevant IMF report has been issued will be reflected in the subsequent issue of the AREAER that covers the year during which the IMF staff report with information on such changes is issued. 5 The information on exchange measures imposed for security reasons is based solely on information provided by country authorities. ©International Monetary Fund. Not for Redistribution
ANNUAL REPORT ON EXCHANGE ARRANGEMENTS AND EXCHANGE RESTRICTIONS 2017 Several tools help navigate and interpret the findin of this report.A sinele table co mpares the charad teristics of the exchange and trade systems of all IMF member:Summary Features of Exchang ngements each country,and th omp Starting with the 2017 publication,the AREAER has undergone two updates.First,section III.E.3."Inflation 8o80ooo9coc四a better capture the c ms (se Ma C. changes table shows the change under each subcategory as listed in the country table.Hence,the yearly changes table has been aligned with country table where a regulatory change may appear in more than on which sction the early cha that in more than one subcat ory of a section was aken in the current reporting period (base don the yearly changes for each counry),th ious date in in the data WihCchst9nondtieubaiegoieoreample,oiosXandX0lhadtionwospaac tables ere previ usly presented at the end of the untry chapter,one for each year covered in the reporting period,but thee have ben combined into o table The areaer is available online and on dVD.The e erview and the detailed information for cach of the 189 member countries and the three territories for cach year are included on the DVD and in the AREAER Online data se.In addition,AREAER Online contains data published in previous issues of the AREA le by year,country,and category of measure and allows cross-country comparison In general,the AREAER includes a description of exchange and trade systems as of December 31,2016 Overall Developments ange transactions continuc the rene orting period had a oUSdgobinrah the US e market ldotaehraranclcoadibns7geanlha ections and the United Kingdom's decision to leave the Eur or emerging While emerging market economies generally ex ienced reduced capital inflows,national policies influenced the cross-country distribution of these flows.Global economic activity slowed in 2016 relative to 2015 but gained momentum during late 2016 and early 2017.The strength of the recovery remained mixed particularly steep ()Hon n) e. www.ibrary.im 2017,ega of the 2 ntemational Monetary Fund October2017 OInternational Monetary Fund.Not for Redistribution
ANNUAL REPORT ON EXCHANGE ARRANGEMENTS AND EXCHANGE RESTRICTIONS 2017 2 International Monetary Fund | October 2017 Several tools help navigate and interpret the findings of this report. A single table compares the characteristics of the exchange and trade systems of all IMF member countries: Summary Features of Exchange Arrangements and Regulatory Frameworks for Current and Capital Transactions in IMF Member Countries. The Country Table Matrix lists the categories of data reported for each country, and the Compilation Guide includes definitions and explanations used to report the data. Starting with the 2017 publication, the AREAER has undergone two updates. First, section III.E.3, “Inflationtargeting framework,” under section III.E, “Monetary policy framework,” has been expanded to include five additional subcategories to better capture the characteristics of such systems (see Country Table Matrix). Each of the five subcategories has additional subcategories. Second, the format of the yearly changes table that appears at the end of each country chapter was updated. Starting with the 2017 publication the yearly changes table shows the change under each subcategory as listed in the country table. Hence, the yearly changes table has been aligned with the main country table where a regulatory change may appear in more than one subcategory of a section. This will allow readers to have more accurate information about the subcategory in which a change occurred from the updated yearly changes table. Previously, a regulatory change that appeared in more than one subcategory of a section was reported only once under the section heading in the yearly changes table at the end of the country table. Therefore, in the following description of the trend in changes to regulation undertaken in the current reporting period (based on the yearly changes for each country), the number of changes in most cases cannot be directly compared with the number of changes reported in the previous reporting period. This update in recording changes in the database is most likely to affect sections with several first and second tier subcategories (for example, sections IX and XI). In addition, two separate tables were previously presented at the end of the country chapter, one for each year covered in the reporting period, but these have been combined into one table. The AREAER is available online and on DVD. The overview and the detailed information for each of the 189 member countries and the three territories6 for each year are included on the DVD and in the AREAER Online database. In addition, AREAER Online contains data published in previous issues of the AREAER and is searchable by year, country, and category of measure and allows cross-country comparisons for time series.7 In general, the AREAER includes a description of exchange and trade systems as of December 31, 2016. However, any changes made to member countries’ exchange rate arrangements before April 30, 2017, are reflected in the report, as are some other developments through August 31, 2017.8 Overall Developments During January 1, 2016–August 31, 2017, the liberalization of foreign exchange transactions continued against a backdrop of modest growth and volatile capital flows to emerging market economies, a decline in oil and commodity prices, and geopolitical tension. Some key events during the reporting period had a global impact, notably the US elections and the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union. During this period, US and global interest rates rose, which led to tighter financial conditions for emerging markets. While emerging market economies generally experienced reduced capital inflows, national policies influenced the cross-country distribution of these flows. Global economic activity slowed in 2016 relative to 2015 but gained momentum during late 2016 and early 2017. The strength of the recovery remained mixed, particularly as commodity exporters continued to adjust to the sharp slowdown in foreign earnings. The decline in net capital inflows to emerging market economies was particularly steep during the last quarter of 2016, reflecting 6 Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (both in the Kingdom of the Netherlands), and Hong Kong SAR (China). 7 For further information on these resources, see www.imf.org/external/publications/index.htm, www.imfbookstore.org, or www.elibrary.imf.org. 8 The date of the latest reported development is indicated for each country in the country chapters on the DVD and in the AREAER Online database as the position date. The exchange rate classification for all countries reflects the status as of April 30, 2017, regardless of the position date. ©International Monetary Fund. Not for Redistribution
ANNUAL REPORT ON EXCHANGE ARRANGEMENTS AND EXCHANGE RESTRICTIONS 2017 ewhat in early 2017 the The 2017AREAER documents the following major trends and significant developments: ges in de fact eriod indicat shift to flexible or more clearly defined exchange relative to the previous reporting period.The use of the residual category (other managed arrange ment)decreased slightly as countries were able to resume previous,more tightly managed exchange rate Continuing the earlier trend,the number of countries that directly ta et inflation increased.However,the share of member countries using the exchange rate as the main monetary policy target remained unchanged relative to the previous reporting period The ward less the aim of increa rate or resuming by sor with ged exchange rate arrangements. The modernization of for exchange mar ture s markets develop and marke ed Fewe dual a mg mertipc exchange rates. .The nund by mber of IMF T Artidle vil obligat members make use of the transitional arrangement under Article XIV.Of these 18 members,3 maintain no restrictions but have not yet decided to accept the obligations under Article VIII. .The sactions amid lackl ster global growth and reduce capita aoeed出manhgoomyeocdPortiotioiesmeaswerelbcizaddspicadeaincinhAo porfolio oufws from cmerging market.Tighrening masures aimed mosty to manage ows or balance of payments pressure ts in the finan the global nstituti gen trend mor capital openness i tobe used ex tives and as policy responses to capital flow volatility. The remainde rofhigi the ajr deveopmin the indivd coury chape Developments in Exchange Arrangements This section documents mai r chan and trends in the following related arcas intervention,monetary anchors and the operation and structure of foreign exchange markets.It also repor on significant developments with respect to exchange taxes,exchange rate structures,and national currencies OInternational Monetary Fund.Not for Redistribution
ANNUAL REPORT ON EXCHANGE ARRANGEMENTS AND EXCHANGE RESTRICTIONS 2017 International Monetary Fund | October 2017 3 reduced portfolio inflows and a modest pickup in outflows. This trend reversed somewhat in early 2017. Changing expectations about China contributed to shaping the dynamics of aggregate capital flows to emerging market economies, with China continuing to experience a decline in reserves in 2016. The 2017 AREAER documents the following major trends and significant developments: • Changes in de facto exchange rate arrangements during the reporting period indicate a shift toward less flexible or more clearly defined exchange rate regimes, reflecting a more stable economic environment relative to the previous reporting period. The use of the residual category (other managed arrangement) decreased slightly as countries were able to resume previous, more tightly managed exchange rate arrangements. • Continuing the earlier trend, the number of countries that directly target inflation increased. However, the share of member countries using the exchange rate as the main monetary policy target remained unchanged relative to the previous reporting period. • There was a move toward less exchange rate flexibility and increased intervention by some members, with the aim of increasing foreign exchange accumulation or resuming more tightly managed exchange rate arrangements. • The modernization of foreign exchange market structures continued as markets developed and marketbased arrangements spread. The reported number of countries with a functioning interbank and forward foreign exchange market increased. Fewer countries are classified as having dual and multiple exchange rate structures because several member countries took action to reduce the deviation between official and other exchange rates. • The number of IMF member countries accepting the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2(a), 3, and 4 increased by 2, to 171 in 2016, when Nauru and Tuvalu accepted Article VIII obligations. Eighteen IMF members make use of the transitional arrangement under Article XIV. Of these 18 members, 3 maintain no restrictions but have not yet decided to accept the obligations under Article VIII. • The previous trend toward liberalization of payments for invisible transactions and current transfers continued. The regulatory framework was also eased for imports and import payments, as well as for export proceeds and proceeds from current invisibles and current transfers. • IMF members continued to liberalize capital transactions amid lackluster global growth and reduced but volatile capital flows to emerging markets. Measures eased both inflows and outflows, with easing of outflows dominating primarily as countries that introduced outflow controls during recent crisis episodes removed them as the economy recovered. Portfolio investments were liberalized despite a decline in inflows and continued portfolio outflows from emerging markets. Tightening measures aimed mostly to manage volatile capital flows or balance of payments pressure. • Developments in the financial sector indicate sustained progress in implementing the global regulatory reform agenda and continued liberalization of controls on capital flows. Financial sector regulatory frameworks were adjusted to align them with new international standards and to consolidate developments in prudential and institutional arrangements. The general trend toward more capital account openness is reflected in developments in the financial sector as well, particularly with regard to capital outflows. Reserve requirements continued to be used extensively to implement monetary policy and financial stability objectives and as policy responses to capital flow volatility. The remainder of this overview highlights the major developments covered in the individual country chapters that are part of this report. Developments in Exchange Arrangements This section documents major changes and trends in the following related areas: exchange rate arrangements, intervention, monetary anchors, and the operation and structure of foreign exchange markets. It also reports on significant developments with respect to exchange taxes, exchange rate structures, and national currencies. ©International Monetary Fund. Not for Redistribution