March 23 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia plans to borrow almost 600 million euro ($641.9 million) to ensure budget liquidity and maintain employment during the coronavirus crisis, finance minister Nina Angelovska said.
Skopje will borrow some 400 million euro through a bridge-to-bond facility with a term to maturity of up to 12 months, Angelovska told a news conference on Sunday streamed on the government's YouTube channel.
"It will be borrowing from foreign banks under favourable conditions. We expect a favourable interest rate on this instrument, even lower than the previously issued 2018 Eurobond, having historically the lowest interest rate of 2.75%," Angelovska said.
The government will also borrow 87 million euro from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and 100 million euro from the World Bank,
Angelovska added that she anticipates an economic slowdown and negative growth in the second quarter as the hardest impact of the coronavirus disease are expected to be felt in the coming three months.
The government said last week it would provide nearly 12 million euro worth of zero-interest loans to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the coronavirus.
Angelovska said at the time that Skopje is also in talks with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to relocate an additional 50 million euro that will be available to companies in the form of interest-free loans.
($ = 0.934714 euro)