The Ministry of Finance reached a significant milestone with the completion and publication of the Medium-Term Debt Strategy (MTDS) 2024-2026. The report is the first of its kind for the region and sets out the government’s commitment to long-term regional development planning, with 2023 as the base year.
The MTDS lays out a debt management strategy with a medium-term perspective to guide the Government's borrowing policy and debt management operations to achieve its debt management objectives. By design, the MTDS is consistent with the primary debt management objective of meeting the Government's financing needs at the lowest cost, with a prudent level of risk, and with a secondary objective of developing domestic debt markets.
The MTDS 2024-2026 is aligned with the Budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2024-2026. The Annual Borrowing Plan (ABP) 2024 is part of the MTDS and sets out how the Government plans to finance the projected net fiscal deficit in 2024, which will be driven by planned large-scale investments in the Territory's infrastructure.
The optimal strategy selected to meet the Territory's total financing needs is linked to domestic market developments. In addition, the strategy maximizes opportunities for concessional and semi-concessional borrowing and credit enhancements to contain costs and extend maturities of the Territory's debt portfolio.
“The preparation and publication of the MTDS for 2024-2026 affirms the government's commitment to promoting clarity, transparency and accountability in debt management operations and to foster a constructive dialogue with the VI's investor base,” Macro-Fiscal Coordinator Michelle Richmond-Phillips said.
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury Dr. Drexel Glasgow added that “the Administration will monitor the MTDS to take into account continuing changes in the global and regional macroeconomic environment and to ensure that it remains consistent with key debt management objectives.”
This report would not have been possible without the ongoing technical assistance and capacity building support and guidance, particularly in the use of various debt management analytical tools, provided by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s (COMSEC) Debt Management Unit and the IMF/CARTAC team.
