Ukraine Poised to Seal Three-Year IMF Loan of About $5 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine is set to agree on a new loan of about $5 billion from the International Monetary Fund, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The extended fund facility will replace a short-term program that helped the eastern European country navigate a tricky year of presidential and parliamentary elections. It will probably run for three years, said the people, who asked not to be named because negotiations are continuing.

An IMF mission arrived in Kyiv this month to discuss the parameters of the new program, which is likely to include conditions seeking further steps to tackle corruption, curb the budget deficit and liberalize the market for farm land.

The government has said it hopes to reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF this month, and have a new program in place by year-end.

Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has embraced market-friendly reforms since his shock election win in the spring. Investors have made the hryvnia this year’s best-performing currency against the dollar with an 11.8% advance.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daryna Krasnolutska in Kiev at dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net;Volodymyr Verbyany in Kiev at vverbyany1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Andrew Langley, James Amott

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.