Ukraine expects next IMF wire in October

Макроэкономика 09.09.2015 Ukraine might receive next IMF wire in October, President Petro Poroshenko said at the Cabinet meeting on Sept. 8, as reported by pravda.com.ua. Previously, the government reported that the IMF mission would visit Kyiv on Sept. 22 to stay there until Oct. 2. The second tranche from the IMF (USD 1.7 bln) was approved for disbursement on July 31. According to the initial deal with the IMF, Ukraine is scheduled to receive two more wires, of USD 1.7 bln each, by the end of 2015. Alexander Paraschiy: After successful debt restructuring and positive feedback from Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, such unconditional optimism from the President is of no surprise. Still, we should not forget that the IMF’s monitoring visits take usually more time than initially planned, with subsequent delays with final conclusions. What more, this fall, heating tariffs in Ukraine might be critical for the IMF. The Cabinet is worrying about Ukrainians’ reaction on increased heating rates since October. There is a huge temptation for step-back, therefore. Against this backdrop, we beleive the IMF will not be hasty to transfer the next wire to Ukraine. What will be even more important for Ukraine to get from the IMF in the coming days - is the recognition of USD 3.0 bln Eurobond, held by Russian National Welfare Fund, as non-official debt.