IMF: Ukraine May Need Bigger Bailout
Ukraine may need as much as $19 billion in additional funds from donors if its conflict with pro-Russian separatists continues during 2015, the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, it said the money planned under the program is largely sufficient for now as long as the fighting between the government in Kiev and the rebels in the eastern part of the country subsides in the “coming months.”
In a detailed review of Ukraine’s progress and the state of its economy, the IMF painted a dire picture of a country trying to reform everything from banking management to the legal system, while also boosting spending on fighting in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The Fund, which provided a bailout to Kiev as part of an overall $27 billion international rescue, said it would relax some conditions for Ukraine going forward, including for the government’s budget deficit and the level of central bank reserves.
In return, Kiev would have to make up for the shortfall elsewhere, including by doing a better job of collecting payments for Naftogaz, the state-run oil and gas company.
Source: Reuters
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