Prima pagină » English » IMF Says To Unblock EUR2.3B Tranches To Romania, Half Goes To Budget

IMF Says To Unblock EUR2.3B Tranches To Romania, Half Goes To Budget

The International Monetary Fund is set to release in February EUR2.3 billion of the EUR13 billion stand-by loan, as the program agreed with the fund is broadly on track, Wednesday said Jeffrey Franks, head of IMF's mission to Bucharest.
IMF Says To Unblock EUR2.3B Tranches To Romania, Half Goes To Budget
27 ian. 2010, 11:00, English

Franks said the Romanian budget for 2010 is in line with IMF’s expectations and requirements and the budget deficit target of 5.9% of the gross domestic product was a key measure to finalize the review mission and unblock further disbursements.

According to the latest figures, Romania’s economy is expected to have shrunk by 7% in 2009, Franks said. He added the GDP contraction in the fourth quarter of 2009 was smaller compared to the previous quarter.

The IMF kept its forecast on the economic growth unchanged at 1.3% in 2010, but said it expected the recovery to step up in 2011.

Nonetheless, there is a risk the global economy recover may be sluggish, which will obviously reflect on Romania’s economic evolution as well, Franks said.

Romania and the IMF agreed last spring on a EUR13 billion stand-by loan, as part of a EUR20 billion package that also includes funds from the European Commission, the World Bank and other international lenders.

A mission from the IMF, alongside representatives of the EU and the World Bank, arrived last week in Bucharest to review Romania’s progress under the arrangement.