The IMF, Ukraine and Zelensky

[Brian4Liberty]

IMF, Ukraine Reach Deal That Could Unlock $700 Million Disbursement
Oct. 18, 2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund and Ukraine announced an agreement on Monday that could pave the way for Kyiv to receive a $700 million disbursement and secure an extension to its $5 billion loan program through to June.

Ukraine had secured a stand-by loan deal last year as the country, one of Europe's poorest, tumbled into recession due to the coronavirus pandemic. But loan disbursal stalled over concerns about reforms and the independence of the central bank.

The latest agreement is a boost for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government, which has repeatedly pushed back its estimates of when new IMF loans might become available and faced criticism over perceived backsliding on reforms.

The IMF said the completion of the first review of the $5 billion arrangement, now slated to expire in December, would enable disbursements of about $700 million to the country.

Zelenskiy said he expected the IMF executive board to approve the agreement in November.

"This will allow Ukraine to receive about $700 million and once again confirm our close cooperation," Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter.
...
More: https://money.usnews.com/investing/...t-could-pave-way-for-700-million-disbursement

 

[Brian4Liberty]

IMF board approves $5 billion lifeline for Ukraine amid coronavirus recession
JUNE 9, 2020

WASHINGTON/KIEV (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund’s executive board approved on Tuesday a $5 billion loan deal for Ukraine that Kiev says is needed to stave off default as the coronavirus pandemic plunges the Eastern European country’s economy into recession.

Ukraine will receive an immediate disbursement of about $2.1 billion from the 18-month Stand-By Arrangement, the IMF said in a statement.

“That’s $200 mln more than originally planned,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on his official Twitter account. “The new program funding will help us to overcome the challenges caused by #COVID19. The #IMF has proven itself to be a reliable partner to a friend in need.”
...
More: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-economy-imf-idUSKBN23G35U

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Ukraine’s IMF Deal
BY JACK RASMUS - MARCH 28, 2014

On March 27, 2014, the IMF released the broad outlines of its terms and conditions for loans and other measures for the Ukrainian economy. What those terms and conditions mean is less a rescue of the Ukrainian economy than the onset of a Greece-like economic depression for the Ukrainian populace.

Ukraine’s economy had clearly entered a recession, its third since 2008, sometime in the latter half of 2013. Some recent estimates of the likely contraction of the economy in 2014-15 have ranged from 5%-15% in GDP decline.

The ‘IMF Standby Agreement with Ukraine’ text released March 27, acknowledges the current severe economic instability of the Ukrainian economy. What it fails to acknowledge, however, is how the IMF package will further adversely impact that economy.

The IMF deal calls for $14-$18 billion in IMF financial support provided over the next two years, 2014-15. Another potential $9 billion reportedly will come from other countries, although in yet unspecified form. The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development apparently will provide $2 billion of that $9 billion. Presumably the US aid package of around $1-$2 billion now currently working its way through the US Congress represents another element of the $9 billion. The remaining $5 of the $9 billion non-IMF funding is yet unidentified.

The $27 billion total is well in excess of the $15 billion that was being talked about in prior weeks by the public press and more than the $20 billion Ukraine had asked the IMF for at the end of 2013—an indication that the economy has been deteriorating more rapidly than reported since the beginning of 2014.
...
More: https://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/28/ukraines-imf-deal/