The International Monetary Fund has concluded the Article IV consultation for Seychelles and completed the fifth and sixth, and final, reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The decision enables an immediate disbursement of about USD 41 million and closes the current arrangements, while the Executive Board judged Seychelles’ 2025 performance strong but warned that the war in the Middle East has materially worsened the near-term outlook through tourism, energy, food, and shipping channels. The IMF estimated real GDP growth at 5.1 percent in 2025, with end-year inflation just below zero, a primary fiscal surplus of 2.5 percent of GDP, public and publicly guaranteed debt down to 53.6 percent of GDP, a current account deficit of 6.5 percent of GDP, and reserves above four months of imports. Under the baseline for 2026, growth is projected to slow to 1.5 percent, end-year inflation to rise to 3.1 percent, the primary surplus to fall to about 0.9 percent of GDP, and the current account deficit to widen to 7.8 percent of GDP. Program implementation was broadly on track, with all but one quantitative target met under the EFF, most structural benchmarks completed, and all but one RSF reform measure implemented. Directors backed continued gradual fiscal consolidation toward the 50 percent of GDP debt anchor, data-dependent monetary policy with exchange rate flexibility, and further strengthening of financial supervision, bank resolution, crisis preparedness, AML/CFT controls, beneficial ownership information, and oversight of virtual asset service providers. The remaining reform measures, including the electricity tariff framework, are expected to be completed after program end. Because Seychelles still has outstanding IMF credit, Post-Financing Assessments will be conducted, and the next Article IV consultation is expected on the standard 12-month cycle.
International Monetary Fund2026-05-26
International Monetary Fund concludes Seychelles Article IV consultation and completes final EFF and RSF reviews with about USD 41 million disbursement
The IMF concluded its Article IV consultation for Seychelles and completed final reviews under the Extended Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility, enabling an immediate disbursement of about USD 41 million and closing the arrangements. The Executive Board assessed performance as strong, with solid growth, low inflation, a primary surplus and declining debt, but noted that the war in the Middle East has worsened the near-term outlook via tourism, energy, food and shipping. Directors backed gradual fiscal consolidation toward the 50 percent of GDP debt anchor, data‑dependent monetary policy with exchange rate flexibility, and stronger financial supervision, crisis preparedness, AML/CFT controls, and oversight of virtual asset service providers.