Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Oleh Churiy says that a major factor influencing a decision by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the disbursement of a new tranche worth $1.3 billion to Ukraine could be the timely adoption of the country`s 2017 budget by the Verkhovna Rada.
”The major factor for a positive decision by the IMF could be the adoption of the budget this year. The sooner it is adopted, the earlier the IMF`s Executive Board schedules a date for a meeting and passes its decision,” Churiy told Espreso.TV.
He did not comment whether the postponement of the pension reform in Ukraine could be an obstacle to the new disbursement. He said the issue was not within the NBU`s authority.
Churiy earlier announced that an IMF mission was completing its work in Ukraine and would soon issue its statement following talks with the Ukrainian authorities.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the IMF on September 14 announced the completion of the second review of the four-year Extended Fund Facility program of cooperation with Ukraine, adopted in March 2015, and decided to allocate the third loan tranche worth $1 billion.
The total amount of the funds already disbursed by the IMF is $7.62 billion of the total lending target set at $17.5 billion. The decision on the disbursement was made after more than a year break in relations between Ukraine and the IMF.
Ukraine expects the fourth tranche worth $1.3 billion by December. However, to secure more aid, the Ukrainian authorities will have to present a model of its pension system reform to kick off in 2017, the launch of the land market model, the model of tax legislation changes, including the abolition of the special VAT regime for agribusinesses and the simplified taxation system for legal entities. The IMF will also assess the transparency of the budget process in Ukraine.
