INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF)
MIDDLE EAST REGIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER
(METAC)
WORSKHOP ON
“Developing Debt Management Strategies and Designing a Strategy for
Effective Risk Mitigation – 3 day Program
Moderators
Ms. Allison Holland – IMF Senior Financial Sector Expert
Ms. Nelly Batchoun – METAC Resident Advisor for Public Debt
Management
Mr. Patrick van der Wansem - IMF Consultant, Debt Management and
Market Development -
JUNE 28-30, 2011
Le Royal HOTEL
Amman, Jordan
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Workshop Description
In light of recent global developments in debt management and debt
markets, this will be a workshop that will focus on the issue of
developing sound debt management strategies that are effective at
mitigating a comprehensive set of risks. In particular, it will give some
prominence to risk factors that go beyond the more standard
approaches. In particular, it will focus on developing a strategy that
more fully takes account of macroeconomic vulnerabilities, exposure to
contingent liabilities – both explicit and implicit, potential cross-country
spillovers, and vulnerabilities in the investor base.
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Day 1 Tuesday, June 28
9:00 – 9:30
9:30 – 9:45
Workshop Registration
Welcome Remarks
9:45 – 10:00
Overview of workshop
10:00 – 11:00
An Effective Framework for Debt Management
11:00 – 11:30
11:30 – 12:00
This will introduce the key elements of a robust framework for
debt management, including debt management objective,
governance, accountability, benefits of a formal debt
management strategy.
Coffee / Tea Break
Debt Management—A Regional Perspective
12:30 – 13:45
13:45 – 14:30
This will provide an overview of the key debt management
challenges facing the region.
Country Case: Supporting Capacity Building—Helping to
Strengthen the Institutional Framework. Jordan experience
Lunch break
Strategy Design: The Key Elements
14:30 – 15:30
This will discuss the key elements of a formal debt
management strategy and introduce the key steps involved in
designing an effective debt management strategy.
Sources of Risk
15:30 – 15:50
15:50 – 16:30
This will introduce the key sources of risk that can affect the
implementation and achievement of the debt management
objective. These will include risks directly linked to debt
management choices, but also discuss other sources of risk
that lie outside the direct perimeter of debt management but
which are also relevant.
Coffee /Tea Break
Building Resilience: Lessons from Debt Crises
16:30 – 17:00
This will discuss cross country experiences of debt crises to
illustrate how debt portfolio choices aggravated the impact of
various shocks, providing greater insight into the nature of
risk facing debt managers. It will also review how several
emerging markets have successfully built greater resilience to
shocks through a sustained effort to improve debt management
frameworks and expand strategic choices.
Wrap-up of Day 1
12:00 – 12:30
Saade Chami
(METAC)
Allison Holland
(IMF)
Allison Holland
(IMF)
Nelly Batchoun
(METAC)
Khalid Hmoud
(USAID)
Allison Holland
(IMF)
Patrick van der
Wansem (IMF
Consultant)
Allison Holland
(IMF)
Nelly Batchoun
(METAC)
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Day 2, Wednesday, June 29
9:00 - 10:00
Inter-linkages between Debt Management, Debt
Portfolio Choices and the Macro-economic
Environment
Allison Holland (IMF)
This will provide an overview of the links between debt
management strategies and the macro environment.
This will focus in particular how identification of key
macro-economic vulnerabilities—including fiscal
vulnerability, aid dependency, exposure to commodity
prices, extent of contingent liabilities, etc.—could
influence debt portfolio choices.
10:00 – 10:40
Country Case: Developing a Public Debt Management
Framework— Lebanon Experience
10:40 – 11:00
Coffee / Tea Break
11:00 – 12:30
Evaluating Alternative Debt Strategies: The Cost-atRisk Approach
Lea Hakim, Ministry of
Finance, Lebanon
Patrick van der Wansem
(IMF Consultant)
This will provide an overview of quantifying the
anticipated cost of various alternative strategies, and
assessing the portfolio risk associated with each. It will
discuss relevant measures of cost and risk. It will
discuss how this information on the portfolio cost-risk
tradeoff can be used to inform the decision on choice of
debt management strategy.
12:30 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 15:30
Case Study: Analyzing the Cost-Risk Tradeoff in
Practice
Allison Holland (IMF)
This exercise will illustrate the concepts introduced so
far by discussing the strategic choices facing a
representative country.
15:30 – 15:50
Coffee / Tea Break
15:50 – 16:45
Managing Other Dimensions of Risk: Investor Base
This will discuss the steps that debt managers can take
to build strong relationships with investors, the
importance of transparency and effective
communications, and the need for debt managers to
understand the factors that affect investors’ investment
choices.
16:45 – 17:15
Wrap-up of Day 2
Patrick van der Wansem
(IMF Consultant)
Team
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Day 3, Thursday, June 30
9:00 – 10:00
Managing Other Dimensions of Risk: Contingent
Liabilities
Allison Holland (IMF)
This will discuss how debt managers can take account
of contingent liabilities (both explicit and implicit) in
the design of the debt strategy. It will explore the
potential cross-institutional frameworks that might be
needed to facilitate related information sharing and
risk monitoring, etc.
10:00 – 11:15
Implementing the Strategy: Key Issues in Accessing the
Domestic Debt Market
Nelly Batchoun (METAC)
This will discuss key issues in effective implementation
of the strategy, and in particular developing an
effective primary issuance framework for the domestic
debt market. This will include establishing an issuance
calendar, issuance of benchmarks, potential role of
primary dealers.
11:15 – 11:45
Coffee / Tea Break
11:45 – 12:30
Implementing the Strategy: Key Issues in Accessing the
International Capital Markets
Patrick van der Wansem
(IMF Consultant)
This will discuss key issues in accessing the
international capital markets, including role of
advisers, instrument design, size of issue and associated
costs and risks, related investor relations activities, etc.
12:30 – 13:45
Lunch
13:45 – 14:00
Workshop Feedback
Participants
14:00 – 14:40
Developing a Formal Strategy: Putting the Pieces
Together
Allison Holland (IMF)
This will review the process of developing a
comprehensive and formal debt management strategy,
drawing on the lessons and discussions highlighted
through the workshop.
14:40 – 14:50
Coffee / Tea Break
14:50 – 15:30
Monitoring Implementation of the Strategy
This will discuss the importance of regular monitoring
and risk reporting to senior policy makers as the
strategy is implemented.
15:30 – 16:00
Workshop wrap-up and Closing Session
Patrick van der Wansem
(IMF Consultant)
Team