Ukraine could receive IMF tranche before summer start - advisor to Presidential Office chief

Ukraine could receive a new tranche from the International Monetary Fund before summer start, suggests Tymofiy Mylovanov, the adviser to the President's Office chief.

That's according to the working level agreements, Mylovanov told Ukraine 24 TV channel on March 1.

"This is a technical term that means that the parties have agreed on what has been done and what else needs to be done, and clearly outlined this on paper. Then this paper is submitted to the IMF Executive Board, they approve it... A decision is made, and the money is transferred," Mylovanov said.

It's the very fact of the allocated loan tranche than the money itself that's more important for Ukraine, the adviser noted.

"We need not so much the money itself as the very fact. Because many international investors look at the International Monetary Fund, They are guided in a way that, if the IMF program runs on schedule or in line to investors' expectations, everything is fine. If there is good news, they become more optimistic. If there is no program or if it's constantly postponed, they begin to suspect that there are issues with the economy. And then our macroeconomic situation may worsen," he said.

Read alsoAdviser to Zelensky explains cause for rescheduling of IMF disbursementAs for the specific terms for obtaining the loan tranche, Mylovanov noted: "My bid is somewhere before summer. Although the documents are already prepared, there is currently no such agreement – either political or detailed one – with the IMF."

IMF in Ukraine

• On June 9, 2020, the IMF's Executive Board adopted an 18-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) worth SDR 3.6 billion, or about US$5 billion, aimed at helping Ukraine overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On June 12, Ukraine received the first IMF disbursement worth US$2.1 billion under the SBA.
• 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, 2021, an IMF mission resumed work in Kyiv, they worked until February 12 but departed without any decision on the SBA review.