The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved 2-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) worth SDR 10.976 billion (about $17.01 billion, 800 percent of quota), for Ukraine, the IMF's press service said in a statement.
“The authorities’ economic program supported by the Fund aims to restore macroeconomic stability, strengthen economic governance and transparency, and launch sound and sustainable economic growth, while protecting the most vulnerable,” the statement reads.
The approval of the SBA enables the immediate disbursement of SDR 2.058 billion (about $3.19 billion), with SDR 1.29 billion (about $2 billion) being allocated to budget support.
“The second and third disbursements will be based on bi-monthly reviews and performance criteria, and the remainder of the program period will be subject to standard quarterly reviews and performance criteria,” the statement reads.
As was earlier reported, Kyiv hopes to get the first $3 billion tranche of the new SBA between May 5 and May 8, 2014, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Shlapak said on April 30.
“We’re waiting about $3 billion [in the first tranche]: $1 billion will [go] to the National Bank of Ukraine, $2 billion will cover the budget deficit. We expect this from May 5 to May 8,” he said.
