Ukraine expects $5bn IMF aid during the year
UKRAINIAN Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko yesterday said that Kiev expected an additional tranche of a new four-year International Monetary Fund programme of more than $5bn (£3.36bn) this year.
Yaresko told a press conference that the IMF will review the programme between May and June.
“I cannot say for now when the second tranche will happen,” Yaresko said.
She added that the US law firm White & Case will be advising Kiev on debt restructuring and that she hopes a solution will be found within two months. “I’m an optimist,” she said.
Her statement came after the IMF announced a $17.5bn loan package to help Ukraine’s journey back to economic health.
An IMF report highlighted the risk that creditors holding Ukrainian bonds may balk at the terms being offered in a restructuring.
The overall package amounts to more than $40bn, including the $17.5bn of IMF loans, a further $7.5bn in lending from other international organisations and $15.3bn in debt relief that Ukrainian officials hope to gain from bondholders.