Bloomberg: Yanukovych says Ukraine considers seeking new IMF aid next year
2012-06-13 15:18:19
Ukraine is considering seeking a new aid package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2013 after the expiration of its existing USD 15.6 billion bailout, which has been frozen since last March, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said.
The head of state announced this in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday.
"We're in talks with the IMF. We don't rule out financing starting from next year," Yanukovych said.
The president said that the IMF program is a "barometer" that shows the former Soviet republic where it has problems and where "everything is fine."
Yanukovych expressed hope that GDP would probably advance about 3.9 percent for the whole year, buoyed by Ukraine's co-hosting of the European soccer championships with Poland. "We hope that toward the end of the year economic growth will gradually pick up. We also hope EURO 2012 will add a little," he said.
As UKRINFORM reported, in July 2010, the IMF approved a stand-by program for Ukraine under which it was ready to provide about USD 15.5 billion. Immediately after the approval of the program of cooperation, Ukraine received the first tranche of an IMF loan worth USD 1.89 billion. On December 22, 2010, the IMF allocated the second tranche of a stand-by loan in the amount of SDR 1 billion, or USD 1.5 billion.