Côte d’Ivoire: Economic growth at 7.7% in 2015 and 7.8% in 2016, net FDI at 2.9% of GDP

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Capital Markets in Africa) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Côte d’Ivoire’s real GDP to grow at 7.7% in 2015 and at 7.8% in 2016 compared to a growth rate of 7.5% in 2014.

In parallel, it forecast growth at 4.5% in 2015 and 5.1% in 2016 for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and at 6% in 2015 and 6.2% in 2016 for the West African Economic and Monetary Union, to which Côte d’Ivoire belongs. It forecast the country’s annual average inflation rate at 1.2% in 2015 and 1.5% in 2016. Equally, IMF  projected Côte d’Ivoire’s real per capita GDP to grow by 5% in each of 2015 and 2016, relative to a growth rate of 4.8% in 2014. The Fund forecast net FDI at 2.9% of GDP in 2015 and 3.4% of GDP in 2016, up from 2.7% of GDP in 2014.

Further, it anticipated broad money to expand by 16.7% in 2015 and by 14.4% in 2016. It added that claims on the non-financial private sector grew by 23% in 2014 and by 21.7% in 2013. In parallel, the Fund projected the government’s fiscal deficit to widen from 4.6% of GDP in 2014 to 5.2% of GDP in 2015 and 5.1% of GDP in 2016, when excluding grants; and to deteriorate from 2.3% of GDP in 2014 to 3.2% of GDP in 2015 and 3.1% of GDP in 2016, when including grants. It forecast government revenues, excluding grants, at 17.5% of GDP in 2015 and 17.8% of GDP in 2016, and total government expenditures at 22.7% of GDP in 2015 and 22.9% of GDP in 2016. The IMF projected the country’s external debt to official creditors to regress from 14.3% of GDP in 2014 to 12.6% of GDP in 2015 and 10.2% of GDP in 2016. Further, it expected the current account deficit to narrow from 3.3% of GDP in 2014 to 2.3% of GDP in 2015 and 1.7% of GDP in 2016. It noted that the country’s gross official reserves covered 3.5 months of imports at end-2013 and 4.1 months of imports at end-2014. Source: International Monetary Fund