You're reading: Finance Ministry expects arrival of IMF’s new $1.7 billion tranche in Ukraine in 1-2 days

The second tranche worth $1.7 billion disbursed by the International Monetary Fund under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) may arrive in Ukraine within one or two days, the Finance Ministry's press service told Interfax-Ukraine.

“The money may arrive within a day or two after the IMF Executive Board’s positive decision,” the press service said with reference to Deputy Finance Minister Artem Shevalev.

The IMF announced on Friday evening that the IMF’s Executive Board on July 31, 2015, completed the first review of Ukraine’s Extended Arrangement under the EFF, enabling the disbursement of SDR 1.1821 billion (about $1.7 billion).

The new tranche will bring total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 4.72 billion (about $6.68 billion).

Ukraine’s four-year SDR 12.348 billion (about $17.5 billion) EFF was approved on March 11, 2015, to support the government’s economic program, which aims to put the economy on the path to recovery, restore external sustainability, strengthen public finances, and support economic growth by advancing structural and governance reforms, while protecting the most vulnerable.

Commenting on the IMF’s new tranche, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry said that it welcomed the positive decision. “This tranche will be used to replenish the National Bank of Ukraine’s reserves,” the ministry said.

“The EFF program is a critical component of the Ministry of Finance’s goal of stabilizing the Ukrainian economy and creating the conditions for a return to growth in 2016. Combined with the deep and ambitious reforms being carried out by the government of Ukraine, the new tranche will encourage growth in the economy and reassure financial markets both domestically and internationally,” the ministry said in a follow-up statement.

“Today’s decision by the IMF’s Board is the result of the progress Ukraine has made in implementing its reform program which is supported jointly by the government and the IMF,” the ministry said.

According to the statement, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada completed the prior actions required for the release of the second tranche on July 16, 2015, after voting in favor of four draft laws. These laws in particular made substantial progress in reforming the public finances, strengthening the protection of depositors’ rights, and fighting corruption.

The second tranche is part of the EFF program totaling $17.5 billion which links progress made on Ukraine’s reform agenda with the disbursement of funding over the four-year EFF program. The first $5 billion tranche amounting to 30 percent of the program financing was disbursed immediately after the program was approved by the IMF Board meeting in March 2015.