IMF Executive Board approves new stand-by program for Ukraine

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund decided to open for Ukraine a new 14-month stand-by economic policy support program totaling $3.9 billion.

The first tranche in the program's framework, worth $1.4 billion, is set to be disbursed before Dec 25, according to a report by Ukraine's Ministry of Finance.

Decisions on further tranches will be taken in May and November 2019, following reviews of Ukraine's progress on fulfilling the terms of the memo signed with the IMF.

The IMF's new program will help Ukraine maintain macro-stability in the coming years, as Ukraine is forced to tackle a number of challenges due to increased pressure from Russian aggression, presidential and parliamentary elections in 2019, and the need to ensure peak payments on external debt, according to the report.

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At the same time, the program will cover a number of key measures for the country's development: continued fiscal consolidation for the systemic reduction of the public debt burden, observance by the National Bank of a flexible exchange rate and tight monetary policy in order to reduce inflation and further accumulate international reserves, intensification of reforms aimed at further strengthening of tax administration, financial and energy sector reform, and enhancing efforts to fight corruption.

"The IMF is an anchor lender for other official lenders in Ukraine, who are now already providing us with loans under special conditions that are not available on the market. The funds are already coming to the budget of Ukraine, helping us ensure macro-financial stability, which is especially important on the eve of a difficult election year," Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's Finance Minister, said, commenting on the IMF decision.

The Finance Ministry recalls that this is the tenth IMF program for Ukraine, stressing that the transformations that Ukraine should undergo while the program is in force and the structural beacons to be achieved are set out in the Memorandum, the text of which will be made public in the near future.

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As UNIAN reported, the International Monetary Fund late October agreed with the Ukrainian authorities a new 14-month stand-by program amounting to $3.9 billion.

Among the preconditions for the consideration of the issue by the Fund's Executive Board was the approval by the Ukrainian Parliament of the 2019 State Budget in line with IMF recommendations and raising gas and heating tariffs for households.

In late November, the IMF officially confirmed there were no legal restrictions on continued cooperation with Ukraine after the introduction of martial law.