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AS PROVIDED BY ALBANIA AS A PARTICIPANT IN THE GDDS Albania Table B. Data Categories and Indicators Fiscal Sector DATA CATEGORY: Central Government Debt     National Descriptor (as applicable): CORE INDICATORS: Domestic debt and foreign debt with breakdowns (currency, maturity, debt holder, instrument) ENCOURAGED EXTENSION(S) (as applicable): Government guaranteed debt     Country-Specific Indicator (as applicable): CONTACT PERSON(S):   Mrs. Irena Gjika Head of domestic debt sector Debt Department Ministry of Finance Bul Deshmoret e Kombit, Nr 2 Tirana, Albania Telephone: (355) (4) 226001 Ext. 614; Fax: (355) (4) 228494 Email: igjika@minfin.gov.al   Mrs. Milbana Tole Director of Debt department Debt Department Ministry of Finance Bul "Deshmoret e Kombit" Nr 2 Tirana, Albania Telephone: (355) (4) 226001 ext 604 Fax: (355) (4) 228494 Email: mtole@minfin.gov.al Date Metadata Updated: January 2007 Date Metadata Certified: January 2007          Printer Friendly Page

I. Data Characteristics

Coverage Annual, quarterly, and monthly data on general government debt, foreign and domestic, are published in the "Fiscal Statistics of Government" (FSG). Distinction between foreign and domestic debt is based on the residency criterion of the IMF’s "Balance of Payments Statistics Manual", fifth edition and "A Manual on Government Finance Statistics 1986". Foreign Debt Data include (1) arrears and debt of the central government, (2) debt guaranteed by the central government (debt of state-owned enterprises), and (3) the medium- and long-term loans of the Bank of Albania that were contracted for the Republic of Albania. Data exclude IMF’s Use of Fund Credit and Loans, which are recorded and published as short-term foreign liabilities of the Bank of Albania. Arrears pertaining to "inactive" debt incurred in the past are not included; these are subject to reconciliation and verification with creditors. Data on foreign debt, expressed in EUR, are presented on two bases: outstanding (labeled in "FSG" as net debt) and gross disbursement (labeled in "FSG" as drawings). Published data are shown with the following disaggregation:     Outstanding foreign debt: by creditor (multilateral, bilateral, Paris Club) Gross disbursement of foreign debt:   By creditor (multilateral, bilateral, Paris Club) By original maturity (short and medium to long term) By recipient economic sector (administration, energy, telecommunication, transport, etc.)   Data on foreign debt do not include accrued interest. Annual, quarterly, and monthly data on debt service payments (principal and interest), in thousand EUR, are published. Outstanding foreign debt is revalued daily into EUR at the prevailing market exchange rate. Transactions are recorded using the exchange rate prevailing on the day in which the transactions take place. Domestic Debt Data on outstanding domestic debt, expressed in millions of leks, are presented by instrument (treasury bills, treasury bonds, and loans from the Bank of Albania). Annual, quarterly, and monthly data on general government debt, foreign and domestic, are published in the "Fiscal Statistics of Government" (FSG). Distinction between foreign and domestic debt is based on the residency criterion of the IMF’s "Balance of Payments Statistics Manual", fifth edition and "A Manual on Government Finance Statistics 1986". Periodicity Data are compiled monthly and published quarterly. Timeliness Monthly data are published quarterly with a lag of about 4-6 weeks after the end of each quarter, in the "Fiscal Statistics of Government".

II. Quality Documentation of Methodology No published document on the methodology is available. Explanatory notes on the data appear as footnotes in the statistical tables. Data compilation is consistent with the guidelines in "Debt Stocks, Debt Flows and the Balance of Payments" (Bank for International Settlements, IMF, OECD, and World Bank), where applicable. Data to Support Cross-checks and Assurance of Reasonableness Debt data are presented in detailed disaggregation (by instrument, maturity, recipient sector, and creditor), which will throw light on the quality of the data. Several direct comparisons with data for previous years are also published. Changes in outstanding foreign and domestic debt may be reconciled with financing data in the consolidated budget (Table 1.1) by referring to another table on deficit financing (Table 4.1a) in the "Fiscal Statistics of Government". Debt data may also be verified and compared with domestic and foreign interest payments reported in the consolidated budget. III. Plans for Improvement Recent Improvements The quarterly "Fiscal Statistics of Government" was first published in 1998. Databases for foreign loans have been developed. An advance release calendar (for the next four quarterly issues) is regularly published. A new and more detailed classification of revenue and expenditure, by economic and functional category in accordance with the "GFSM", was adopted in the preparation of the budget for 2001. The use of the new classification scheme for operational purposes promote greater transparency and accountability as well as unify the national and GFS presentations of data for central government operations. The IMF is providing technical assistance in this area. Short Term None. Medium Term Debt-service projections will be published. Technical Assistance/Financing Needs/Other Prerequisites Short Term None Medium Term Project funding and technical assistance are needed for the private sector foreign debt database (Bank of Albania). IV. Dissemination Formats Hard Copy    News Release Publication    Weekly    Monthly    Quarterly "Fiscal Statistics of Government" (Albanian and English), Ministry of Finance    Annual      Other Electronic    Internet http://www.minfin.gov.al/    Other Online    CD-ROM    Diskette    Other (specify)    None