The International Monetary Fund said a mining boom helped the Democratic Republic of Congo’s economy perform “significantly stronger” last year than earlier forecast.
(Bloomberg) — The International Monetary Fund said a mining boom helped the Democratic Republic of Congo’s economy perform “significantly stronger” last year than earlier forecast.
The economy of the mining giant is estimated to have grown 8.5%, compared with an earlier projection of 6.6%, the IMF said Wednesday in an emailed statement.
The fund also raised its growth forecast for this year to 8% from 6.7%, as it warned of downside risks “from the armed conflict in the east, uncertainty ahead of the elections, the continued effect of the war in Ukraine, and adverse terms-of-trade shocks.”
Congo produces almost 70% of the world’s key battery mineral cobalt and tied Peru last year as the second-largest copper producer, according to the US Geological Survey. The central African nation also produces significant amounts of gold and tin. Its mining industry as a whole grew 20% last year, the IMF said.
Despite the strong growth figures, the government is struggling with numerous armed conflicts in the country’s east that have displaced more than 5.8 million people, according to the United Nations.
“The 2022 overall fiscal balance is estimated to have deteriorated as spending increased to address the security situation and arrears repayments,” according to the IMF, which has a three-year $1.5 billion loan program with the country. Despite this deterioration, gross international reserves at the central bank rose to $4.6 billion, about $300 million above the previous projection, it said.
Congo’s internal debt reached nearly $5 billion through the third quarter of last year, according to the country’s debt office. The IMF encouraged the government to continue to pay down its domestic arrears.
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