BELGRADE (Serbia), December 28 (SeeNews) – The International Monetary Fund has released the second tranche of its 3.0 billion euro ($4.3 billion) stand-by loan to Serbia in the amount of 350 million euro aimed at strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserves, the country's central bank said.
The IMF executive board approved the disbursement of the funds on December 23 in Washington, the central bank said in a statement last week. The government in Belgrade will be able to withdraw the funds on Tuesday. Serbia withdrew the first tranche of the stand-by loan facility worth 788 million euro in May.
The government in Belgrade signed the two-year stand-by funding arrangement with the IMF in March, agreeing to cuts in public spending that would slash budget deficit to 4.0% of the projected gross domestic product next year from 4.5% planned for this year.
($=0.6946 euro)