REUTERS
The government hopes to get US$4 billion by year-end, the official says.
Head of the Financial, Tax and Customs Policy Parliamentary Committee Danylo Getmantsev says Ukraine may receive the first tranche of up to US$2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ukraine's key lender, as early as in May 2020.
"We expect to receive US$4 billion by the end of the year. The first tranche will be up to US$2 billion, and this will be in May," he told Ukraine 24 TV channel, as reported by the Ukrainian news outlet LIGA.net on April 17.
As UNIAN reported earlier, on March 30, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, adopted at first reading a bill on banking regulation, which is among IMF's preconditions for starting a new program of cooperation with Ukraine.
Read alsoIMF confident Ukraine to meet conditions soon for launching new program
On March 31, Parliament passed a bill on farmland turnover, which was also required by the IMF to consider relaunching cooperation.
UNIAN memo. 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 Extended Fund Facility, while the Fund's Executive Board is yet to approve the program since Ukraine has not fulfilled all the conditions for starting a new arrangement.
In early March, the IMF announced that the Fund was providing about US$50 billion in rapid financing for low-income and developing economies to overcome the negative consequences of the coronavirus epidemic, and subsequently the Fund announced readiness to mobilize a loan potential worth US$1 trillion to help member states.
On March 26, the IMF announced significant progress in talks with the Ukrainian authorities on a new EFF program for Ukraine and the possible increase in funding. However, they mentioned the need to adopt laws related to banking regulation and farmland reform.
Ukraine's Finance Ministry say they are in talks with the IMF on the new Extended Fund Facility arrangement and expect to receive up to US$5 billion from the Fund by the end of the year.