Tymofiy Mylovanov / Photo from UNIAN
The new program of cooperation with the IMF will be a positive signal for investors to inject money into Ukraine.
Ukrainian Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Tymofiy Mylovanov says the launch of the farmland market in Ukraine is not a condition for approval of a new three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program for Ukraine by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ukraine's key lender.
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"This is not a condition for obtaining the program. There are certain bills that are related to the land market. It is essential to keep in mind that the Fund's main intent is to ensure either equal or better conditions for small- and medium-sized businesses. But there is no precondition related to the land market in those agreements with the IMF," he said on a Ukrainian TV channel on February 22.
According to Mylovanov, the new program of cooperation with the IMF will be a positive signal for investors to inject money into Ukraine.
"I think that the amount is not large enough, even compared to [US$]50 billion that we need, as the reserves of the National Bank are high enough today. This is not [US$]5 billion or [US$]10 billion, as it used to be, now we have US$25-26 billion in National Bank reserves. Therefore, the amount itself is not critical for us from an economic point of view ... What is important that the IMF certifies for investors that the [Ukrainian] government's economic policy is correct. Basically, we need the program for this," the minister said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, IMF experts began their work in Kyiv on February 20. The team's visit aimed to discuss with Ukrainian authorities the policies toward accelerating economic growth and maintaining stability.
Ukraine's authorities and the IMF staff in December 2019 reached an agreement on policies to underpin a new three-year US$5.5 billion EFF, while the Fund's Executive Board is yet to approve the program.
Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yakiv Smolii said a decision on the new EFF might be approved in the first quarter of 2020.
Speaking about preconditions for concluding an agreement on the new program, the chief banker recalled the need to adopt laws preventing courts from returning insolvent banks to former owners and the launch of farmland trade.
On November 13, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, adopted draft law No. 2178-10 to amend certain legislative acts of Ukraine on farmland turnover in the first reading. The document, which was submitted by the relevant committee, is designed to launch the farmland market in Ukraine from October 1, 2020.
On February 6, the Verkhovna Rada started considering the bill in the second reading. Chairman of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction David Arakhamia says Ukraine's parliament may finally vote for the bill in the middle of April. In total, over 4,000 amendments to the draft law on the farmland market were submitted for the second reading.