IMF and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) agree on Three -Year Extended Credit Facility.

• The economy of world's largest producer of cobalt is expected to rise by 6% this year.
• Global demand for Cobalt continues to increase

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), The world’s largest producer of cobalt and the IMF have agreed the fifth review of the three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) supported program. As part of the review the IMF has forecasting that despite a difficult and uncertain environment, the DRC’s economy is expected to rise by 6 % this year driven by a dynamic extractive sector.

• The DRC’s inflation, fell to 22 percent in October 2023. from 23.3 percent year-on-year in July 2023.
• According to the IMF “Gross international reserves increased moderately to about $5.0 billion at end-October 2023, as the external position faced several headwinds.
• The dollar-denominated mining tax revenues were lower-than-expected and the current account deficit remained high.
• The Democratic Republic of Congo, produces 71% of the world’s cobalt supply producing 130,000 MT

Situational Awareness:

• Cobalt demand is surging considering its importance lithium-ion batteries for phones and electric vehicles, or EVs.
• The Biden administration earlier this year released a memorandum of understanding with the Democratic Republic of the Congo( DRC) and Zambia to develop the African countries' EV battery supply chain.