ZCZC
BCN-11
IMF-UKRAINE-LOANS-DEBT
IMF’s Lagarde says likely to approve Ukraine loan after Dec 10
WASHINGTON, Nov 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The International Monetary Fund board
will meet to approve a new loan deal for Ukraine “promptly” after December
10, once the country implements key policy steps including raising gas and
heating rates, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Wednesday.
Lagarde issued a statement following a telephone call with Ukraine
President Petro Poroshenko, who earlier in the day imposed martial law for 30
days amid the escalating conflict with Russia.
The brief IMF statement made no mention of the conflict, which flared
after Russia seized three Ukrainian ships on Sunday off the coast of Crimea.
“We reaffirmed the positive and cooperative relationship between Ukraine
and the IMF,” Lagarde said following the call.
The IMF last month reached an agreement with Kiev on economic policies
that would unlock a new loan deal that will provide nearly $4 billion over 14
months.
“All prior actions are expected to be completed by the Ukrainian
authorities by December 10, 2018, and a meeting of the executive board to
discuss the stand-by arrangement would be convened promptly after that,”
Lagarde said.
A key step was approval of the 2019 budget last week with a deficit of
about 2.3 percent of GDP.
A gas price hike is a sensitive issue for the cash-strapped country as its
pro-Western leadership faces presidential and parliamentary elections in
2019.
But the IMF has stressed the need for continuing to protect low-income
households.
Ukraine has not received any money from the IMF since April 2017, when the
fund released $1 billion for the cash-strapped country to repay loans.
It had received less than $9 billion of the original $17.5 billion
package.
BSS/AFP/HR/0935