Romania Likely To Get Around 2.3 Bln Euro from IMF Stand-by Loan in Mid-March – Media

Mediafax (www.mediafax.ro) quoted the global lender's representative for Romania and Bulgaria, Tonny Lybek, as saying that an IMF review mission will visit Romania at the end of January or in early February to assess the country's economic performance under the stand-by arrangement prior to deciding on the release of the next two tranches of the loan. 

Earlier this month, the IMF delayed the release of the third tranche of 1.5 billion euro, which was due in December, until the political situation in the country stabilises. The fourth tranche from the IMF has been set at 820 million euro, Mediafax reported.

The IMF has so far disbursed around 6.6 billion euro to Romania in the first two tranches of the loan facility. 

In late March Romania clinched a 20 billion euro aid deal with the IMF, the European Union, the World Bank and other international organisations to support its crisis-hit economy. Under the agreement, the IMF pledged to lend Romania 12.95 billion euro, the World Bank will extend a loan of 1.0 to 1.5 billion euro and the rest will come from other international organisations, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Political uncertainty has been high in Romania since the fall of the country's minority government in October. The European Commission has also delayed the disbursement of its second tranche of aid to Romania worth one billion euro for the same reason. 

($ = 0.6723 euro)