IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine puts forward conditions to complete program review
IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine Goesta Ljungman said this, giving a lecture for students of the Department of Economics of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"Ukraine inherited an inefficient energy sector. For years, gas was sold to the population at prices that represented only a small share of its true market value," he said.
According to Ljungman, bringing the gas prices for the population in line with its market value in 2016 "was a real breakthrough", but since then the gap between the gas price for the population and its market value has grown again.
"Revising the gas price in accordance with the previous agreements along with the full-fledged establishment of the anti-corruption court remain the conditions to complete the next review of the program [Ukraine's economic program under the Extended Fund Facility]," the IMF Resident Representative said.
As reported, in March 2015, the IMF approved a program of lending to the Ukrainian economy using the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth a total of $17.5 billion for a term of four years.
Ukraine received the first tranche of $5 billion in March 2015, the second, worth $1.7 billion, in August 2015, the third, worth $1 billion, in September 2016, and the fourth, worth $1 billion, in April 2017.
ol
