Ukraine repays $375 mln to IMF under 2014 SBA

Ukraine has repaid $375 million to its key lender, the International Monetary Fund, to service principal debt under the 2014 Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

On February 6, Ukraine is scheduled to pay another $87 million in interest under the SBA and the ongoing Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, the regulator said.

Read alsoEBRD envoy tells why Ukraine sees only four IMF tranchesThe NBU said earlier that Ukraine was scheduled to repay $7.4 billion on foreign debts in 2018. However, the country's international reserves should not shrink as foreign currency will be replenished due to new disbursements from the IMF and other international partners, the placement of eurobonds and purchases of foreign currency on the interbank market.

Since April 2014, Ukraine and the IMF had been implementing a two-year SBA worth $17 billion under which two disbursements worth $4.6 billion had been given to the country.

In March 2015, the IMF approved a four-year EFF program worth $17.5 billion. Of the amount, Ukraine has received four tranches worth $8.7 billion. The program is expiring in March 2019.

Ukraine's international reserves as of January 1, 2018, amounted to $18.808 billion, which was 21% up on January 1, 2017.

The NBU expects the growth of the country's international reserves by the end of 2018, to $20.5 billion.