Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste: 2023 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

International Monetary Fund

No 2024/056, IMF Staff Country Reports from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: The 2023 Article IV Consultation discusses that Timor-Leste has made impressive progress since independence in 2002 but remains a fragile post-conflict nation with pressing development needs. With oil and gas production having recently come to a halt, progress on diversifying the economy and developing the private sector is urgently needed. The discussions focused on ensuring that Timor-Leste’s substantial savings are best utilized to support development objectives while achieving fiscal sustainability. In order to develop a vibrant private sector, Timor-Leste should undertake an ambitious agenda of reforms. Public expenditure should be reduced to align it with the economy’s absorptive capacity, and its quality improved including by further prioritizing spending on human and physical capital. Domestic revenue should be gradually mobilized. A medium-term fiscal framework should underpin these efforts by setting a clear roadmap to fiscal sustainability. To boost growth and diversify the economy, structural reforms should remove bottlenecks in the agriculture and tourism sectors and foster digitalization to boost productivity, while addressing legal constraints that hinder business operations and financial development.

Keywords: Timorese authorities; fiscal cliff; private sector development; WTI crude; Timor-Leste authorities; Debt sustainability analysis; Oil; Global (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 88
Date: 2024-02-27
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=545474 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:imf:imfscr:2024/056

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/pubs/ord_info.htm

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IMF Staff Country Reports from International Monetary Fund International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC USA. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Akshay Modi ().