News
04.09.2014
IMF may allocate next two tranches to Ukraine in December
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) may consider the allocation for the next two tranches totaling $2.7-2.8 billion to Ukraine in December this year.
Nikolay Gueorguiev, the IMF's mission chief for Ukraine, said this in a conference call on Tuesday, a Ukrinform correspondent reported.
He said that the total amount under the two payments could reach SDR 1.8 billion, an equivalent of $2.7-2.8 billion, depending on the exchange rate at that time.
The IMF also published a report on Ukraine naming two factors that have a negative effect on the country's economic development, in particular, the escalation of the gas dispute with Gazprom and the intensification of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
"Should active fighting continue well beyond that, the small buffers under the revised baseline would be quickly exhausted, requiring a new strategy, including additional external financing. A further heightening of geopolitical tensions could also have significant economic consequences," reads the document.
The IMF predicted that if the fighting in the east of Ukraine continues until the end of the year, real GDP rate would fall to minus 7.25% in 2014. However, according to Gueorguiev, the rate of 6.5% currently remains relevant for the country.
"Ukraine's public debt sustainability has deteriorated since the SBA approval but is still deemed to remain sustainable with high probability under the baseline, which assumes that the conflict will begin to subside in the coming months," reads the report. Moreover, the IMF said, possible parliamentary elections in the fall may undermine the authorities' resolve to implement much-needed policy adjustments and persevere with structural reforms.
