March 19 (Reuters) - Following are details of the main
emergency loan programmes initiated by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) over the past six months as the global
economic crisis has deepened.
Below are details of some of IMF's lending packages:
* ARMENIA -- The IMF approved a $540 million, 28-month
stand-by loan on March 9, enabling Armenia to draw about $240
million immediately.
-- The IMF approved a three-year, $13.6 million loan
programme last November to support the economy through to 2011.
* BELARUS -- IMF approved a $2.46 billion financial rescue
package for Belarus in January. Belarus has already received the
first $788 million tranche and the rest is to be released over
the next 14 months.
* EL SALVADOR -- IMF gave final approval to an $800 million
loan for El Salvador in January, but said the country did not
face immediate needs and would not draw on the funds.
* HUNGARY -- The IMF, the EU and World Bank agreed a $25.1
billion economic rescue package last November in the biggest
loan for an emerging market economy since the crisis began.
-- The IMF's conditions forced the government to make
additional spending cuts, including in social spending and
public sector wages, which had been regarded as taboo so far.
* ICELAND -- The IMF approved a $2.1 billion loan for
Iceland in November. Major banks and currency had collapsed
under the weight of billions of dollars of debt accumulated in
an aggressive overseas expansion into financial services.
-- The IMF deal was complemented by more than $3 billion in
loans from Nordic countries, Russia and Poland as well as close
to $5 billion or more by Britain, the Netherlands and Germany,
making the whole package worth about $10 billion.
-- Analysts have praised the new coalition government under
Johanna Sigurdardottir for sticking to the IMF programme.
* KENYA -- Requested this month an IMF loan of up to $100
million to cushion its currency and help counter a food crisis.
* LATVIA -- The new government will aim for a 2009 budget
deficit of 7 percent of GDP. The planned deficit is above the
maximum 5 percent of GDP Latvia agreed with the IMF and European
Commission for a 7.5 billion euro rescue package last year.
-- The package included financing from the EU, Nordic
countries, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia and the World
Bank. The IMF share was 1.68 billion euro ($2.13 billion).
* MALAWI -- The IMF said on Dec. 3, 2008 it approved a $77.1
million to help Malawi reduce the impact of high fuel and
fertilizer costs.
* MONGOLIA -- The IMF reached an agreement in principle with
Mongolia, for a $224 million loan package under an 18-month
stand-by arrangement on March 7.
* PAKISTAN -- Will look to secure additional funding from
the IMF when they hold talks in April. The IMF approved a loan
of $7.6 billion in November to avert a balance of payments
crisis and the government defaulting on its debt obligations.
* ROMANIA -- An IMF mission arrived in Romania on Wednesday
to discuss a possible aid programme. There were no details on
the bailout, which would include EU funding, but economists said
it could amount to 20 billion euros ($25.38 billion).
* SERBIA -- Serbia said it is due to start talks with the
IMF next week to replace a $520 million stand-by loan with a
$2.0-$2.5 billion arrangement, to absorb the impact of the
global crisis. Central bank Governor Radovan Jelasic said on
Thursday "if we are negotiating a three-year loan, it will be a
lot more."
-- IMF had already approved the stand-by loan in January.
Its terms required that Serbia cut its budget deficit to 1.75
percent of GDP in 2009, from 2.7 percent in 2008.
* SEYCHELLES -- The IMF agreed a two-year $26 million rescue
package on Nov. 14, 2008, whose foreign debt was valued at $800
million. The package is dependent on economic reforms.
* SRI LANKA -- Is seeking a stand-by arrangement which
amounts to approximately $1.9 billion. With the economy under
pressure because of shrinking export earnings, foreign currency
reserves dropped by half in the last four months of 2008 as the
central bank defended the currency.
* TURKEY -- Will sign a loan deal with the IMF only if the
global lender presents conditions acceptable to Turkey, Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on March 9.
-- Turkey has been negotiating on a loan deal to reinforce
state finances, but talks were suspended after the two sides
failed to resolve differences. The IMF had opposed tax cut plans
in Turkey in the past, saying this would hurt fragile public
finances. A deal of around $25 billion is expected, which would
make it the biggest loan request in Turkey's history.
* UKRAINE -- Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Wednesday
promised to alter government policies to secure the IMF's
approval to release further credits from a $16.4 billion loan.
-- The IMF approved the loan package in November but
suspended the credit's second tranche after disagreement over
implementation of the programme over the size of the budget
deficit. Ukraine has received the first $4.5 billion tranche.
* ZAMBIA -- The IMF said on March 4 that Zambia could
receive an additional $100 million to $150 million in balance of
payments help as the country struggles with the effects of
falling copper prices and a global credit crisis.
-- The IMF said it would try to complete the first and
second reviews by early May. Approval of the reviews would see a
loan tranche of around $20 million disbursed to the country.
