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IMF to begin disbursement of $1.3 billion to Zambia

Published

2 years ago

May 6, 2023

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva has revealed that the body will soon begin the disbursement of the next batch of its $1.3 billion financing program to Zambia.

Georgieva told reporters in the Kenyan capital that “what’s left is for creditors of Zambia to agree on a path forward”. The IMF “expect to be able to disburse for Zambia very soon,” she added.

China is the largest bilateral creditor for many African nations including Zambia.

The law firm offering advisory to Zambia on the debt restructuring, White and Case, last month revealed that the country would send its first fully-formed debt restructuring plan to China and other government creditors “very soon”.

Georgieva further revealed that “the Chinese premier and former premier confirmed that the Chinese were committed to debt resolution for Zambia when I met them.”

According to Georgieva, 19 out of the 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa were at or near the risk of debt distress. She cited the pandemic’s effects, Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, high-interest rates, and weaker currencies.

She revealed that the processes for debt restructuring for other African countries like Ghana and Ethiopia had been delayed by a “cacophony” caused by the diversification of creditors in recent years. She however insisted that “Kenya is definitely not among them,” while citing a sustainable debt load and solid hard currency reserves.

Related Topics:Debt restructuring Featured IMF Zambia

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

1 day 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

3 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.