A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headed by Ceyla Pazarbasioglu will complete its work in Ukraine on Friday and so far Ukrainian prospects for obtaining the second tranche of the stabilization loan are vague, Itar-Tass reported.
“The decision on granting the second tranche of the credit has not been made yet,” a representative of the IMF office in Kyiv said.
Pazarbasioglu arrived in Ukraine on April 8 and held negotiations with President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, parliament speaker Vladimir Lytvyn, National Bank Chairman Volodymyr Stelmakh, and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych.
She said the decision on the second tranche will depend on new political realities in the country.
On Tuesday Ukrainian parliament refused to consider the laws necessary to secure the second tranche. However, Tymoshenko said the government has found a possibility to balance the budgets of the Pension fund and Naftogaz Ukrainy Company by its own resolutions.
In November 2008, the International Monetary Fund approved a decision to allocate a stabilization loan worth US $16.43 billion to Ukraine to maintain confidence in the financial sector and help the country’s economy, which was suffering from the global financial crisis. At that time, the National Bank of Ukraine received the first tranche of this IMF credit, US $4.5 billion “to maintain the stability of the national currency and recapitalize banks.”
In Kyiv sources in the National Bank said the decision on the second tranche will be made during a US visit by National Bank chief Stelmakh next week.
