Developing-country officials who deal with debt issues and strategies are to take part in a regional workshop on asset and liability management being held from 30 September to 3 October.
The workshop, to be held in Midrand, South Africa, is being organized by UNCTAD, the National Treasury of South Africa, and the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI).
The meetings aim to show how asset and liability management, or ALM, can be implemented, using the experience of the National Treasury of South Africa as an example.
The intention is to highlight the benefits of the ALM approach for managing sovereign debt and assets. The challenges of carrying out such an approach will be discussed, as will the solutions that have been devised for these difficulties by South African Treasury officials.
The workshop is a component of UNCTAD's Development Account project on "Strengthening capacity for effective asset and liability management in national debt management offices". The objective of the project is to boost the debt-management capabilities of countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The workshop will cover such topics as the benefits of integrating public debt management into an ALM framework, concepts and definitions, minimizing risk and fiscal/financial vulnerabilities, managing contingent liabilities, monitoring local governments, monitoring public enterprises, managing foreign reserves, and practical aspects of implementing ALM.
