SBA review: Shmyhal hopes Ukraine could receive another tranche from IMF

The Cabinet of Ministers expects productive negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, which will lead to a review of the stand-by arrangement and the allocation of the second tranche within its framework, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Facebook after the IMF mission resumed its work on reviewing the SBA.

"The government supports the course of reforms and pursues consistently implementing European norms and practices in Ukraine. Together with the President and the NBU [national bank], we have made every effort to implement structural beacons required to have the arrangement reviewed. In particular, we have reduced non-performing loans in state-owned banks and reorganized customs and tax agencies, which, for example, in December together exceeded their target by more than 26%," PM wrote.

Read alsoIMF mission resumes work in Ukraine on Jan 11According to the prime minister, cooperation with the IMF is "a weighty foundation of support and an important marker of Ukraine's stability for international financial partners."

Ukraine and IMF: Background

On June 9, 2020, the IMF's Executive Board adopted an 18-month Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine with funding equivalent to SDR 3.6 billion (about US$5 billion) aimed at helping Ukraine overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On June 12, Ukraine received the first tranche of the IMF loan under the SBA worth US$2.1 billion.

In late November, the Finance Ministry reported on the successful completion of talks with the IMF on benchmarks of the draft budget for 2021, which was one of the major prerequisites for starting the SBA review.

On January 11, IMF Resident Representative Office in Ukraine said the Fund's Mission, which is making the first review of the Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine, has resumed its work.