NBU chief expects $2.7 bln for Ukraine in 2 IMF tranches before year end

Thursday, July 28, 2016 - 17:40 (EEST) Section: Latest news

The National Bank expects to receive the next tranche of the IMF in late August, awaiting a total of two tranches of the loan before the end of 2016, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Valeriya Gontareva told reporters at a Kyiv briefing Thursday.
”We hope [it happens] late August,” said Gontareva, responding to a question about the possible terms of the allocation of the IMF`s next tranche of loan.
According to Gontareva, the deterioration of the forecast on Ukraine`s forex reserves for the current year with the improved outlook for the next year is due to the fact that the receipt of the previously planned three tranches from the IMF before the end of the year is now unlikely, and therefore only two tranches are expected.
Asked about the amount of funds expected to be received from the IMF this year in absolute terms, the head of the NBU said the sum amounted to $2.7 billion. ”It`s $ 2.7 billion because we have postponed one tranche for until next year. This is our forecast – the forecast of the National Bank,” she said.
Earlier, the National Bank said it downgraded the outlook for growth in Ukraine` international reserves for the end of 2016 from $18.7 billion to $17.2 billion, while at the same time the forecast for the end of 2017 was improved from $22.6 billion to $23.5 billion.
Foreign exchange reserves of the National Bank of Ukraine in June 2016 increased by 3.3%, or $445 million, to $13.981 billion.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Oleksandr Danylyuk said July 26 that the meeting of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund on the Ukrainian issue was expected to be held in late August.
Commenting on this statement, the experts polled by UNIAN opined that that Ukraine may receive the next IMF tranche o in September, but getting all three of the tranches planned for this year, is unlikely.
The IMF in March 2015 approved the Extedned Fund Facility program of cooperation with Ukraine for a four-year period worth $17.5 billion. Last year, Ukraine has received two tranches worth $5 bln and $1.7 bln.