REUTERS

Ukraine is "in very active discussions" with the International Monetary Fund over a new loan program as the country gears up for a snap general election, according to Finance Minister Oksana Markarova.

The IMF agreed on a $3.9 billion loan in late 2018 to get Ukraine through this year, though aid has been frozen until a new government is in place. When that happens, a new program is likely. Markarova sees it lasting three years. She didn't specify the size, Bloomberg reports.

"This program that we have right now, we’ve designed it as the breach program to cover Ukraine through two elections," Markarova said Saturday in an interview in Skopje, North Macedonia. "In a sense, this program has done what it had to do."

Видео дня

Read alsoNBU names fundamental issue in talks with IMF

IMF aid was often delayed as past governments failed to implement required reforms, especially on corruption. President Zelensky has said he wants to install a pro-reform cabinet, assuming his poll where the leading party triumphs in the July 21 election.

With investors keen on Ukraine's domestic bonds, the government probably won't sell more debt on international markets in 2019, Markarova said. It sold EUR 1 billion ($1.1 billion) of debt this month.

"We already see that we're outperforming budget projections in funding from local borrowing," she said. Nevertheless, if market conditions are favorable, "as we did before, we'd do liability-management operations."