Bloomberg: Ukraine close to receiving next US$900 million tranche of IMF loan

Ukraine is close to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to receive the next US$900 million tranche of funds as part of a US$15.6 billion loan.

Source: Bloomberg, citing unnamed officials acknowledging the results of the negotiations.

Details: The IMF is expected to announce the payment of the tranche on Thursday, 22 February. The agreement still needs to be ratified by the IMF's Executive Board.

Quote: "The agreement follows discussions over the past two weeks regarding how Kyiv would be able to fund its operations in case US funding, which is tied up in Congress, doesn’t come through. Those plans — designed to show Ukraine can continue to service its debts — include expanded domestic bond sales, tax hikes and spending cuts," Bloomberg writes.

The IMF disbursement will be the first of four that Ukraine expects this year, totalling US$5.4 billion, as part of a full-scale programme for Ukraine approved in 2023, the publication notes.

To receive the tranche, the Ukrainian government must fulfil certain conditions. According to the two cited officials, the Cabinet of Ministers may have to abandon its recent request to the National Bank to allow the sale of foreign currency to some private Ukrainian companies to help them repay their Eurobond debts.

At the same time, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak noted that the tranche in question is likely to be US$890 million, as this is the amount specified in the memorandum.

Reminder: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission and Ukrainian authorities have launched talks on the third review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on 17 February.

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