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Senegal reaches agreement for $217 million loan with IMF

Published

3 years ago

May 21, 2022

West African country, Senegal has reached an agreement on economic and financial policies with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under which the country will receive a $217 million loan.

The deal was sealed after a delegation of the IMF visited Senegal this week.

The agreement according to the IMF is subject to subject to the approval of the IMF’s executive board in June by the monetary organization.

The IMF said the Senegalese economy regained its pre-pandemic trend path in 2021, led by strong industrial production and the services sector. Real GDP growth is estimated at 6.1 percent, about one percentage point higher than previously anticipated.

“Average inflation was contained at 2.2 percent, though food prices have increased by 2.9 percent. Despite shortfalls in tax revenues, budget execution was broadly in line with target with an overall fiscal deficit of 6.3 percent of GDP.” The IMF remarked.

The loans targeted at helping authorities cushion the impact of soaring fuel and food prices, made worse by the war in Ukraine, and the economic slowdown of Senegal’s main trading partner Mali, which is facing sanctions for failing to restore democracy since a 2020 coup, the IMF said in a statement late on Thursday.

“The authorities have adopted a supplementary budget to incorporate additional spending for energy subsidies, public wages, cash transfers, and security,” the IMF said.

Policy measures have been agreed to avoid budgetary slippages and ensure fiscal deficit will still converge to 3% of GDP by 2024, it added.

The Senegalese economy was hit hard by border closures during the thick of the Covid-19 that affected tourism and delayed oil and gas extractions.

VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

52 minutes ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.