Ukraine`s key creditor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after more than a year`s break will review the country`s implementation of its reform program, which was approved in March 2015, and will decide on the disbursement of a loan tranche to Kyiv worth about $1 billion, according to preliminary estimates.
It is reported that the IMF Executive Directors will review not only the implementation of the current Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, which was approved for a period of four years totaling $17.5 billion, but they will also evaluate the previous stand-by program, which had been in force from spring 2014 to February 2015.
Both Ukraine`s President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, as well as Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk have expressed hope that the IMF will decide in favor of resuming cooperation with Ukraine and allocating funds.
At the same time, Russia stated it would vote against the IMF decision to provide funds to Ukraine. Russia`s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted his country was strongly opposed to this decision. However, Kyiv expects that the majority of IMF members would back the decision to provide Ukraine with the loan tranche.
It is expected that the IMF will announce its official decision after a meeting (today in the evening according to Kyiv time).
As reported earlier, the IMF loan would unlock other financial support for Ukraine. In particular, Ukraine could receive $1 billion for its budget, which would be guaranteed by the United States, along with EUR 600 million of macro-financial assistance from the European Union and a $500 million loan from the World Bank to purchase gas during the heating season.
The National Bank of Ukraine expects that the third tranche from the IMF will be fully channeled to replenish the country`s international reserves. Further, the NBU also believes that the IMF may provide another tranche to the tune of US$1.3 billion in December in case of a successful continuation of cooperation.
