ZCZC
BCN-18
IMF-ECONOMY-ARGENTINA-LOANS
IMF: Talks on stronger Argentina crisis loan ‘very active’
WASHINGTON, Sept 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Talks with Argentinian officials to
strengthen and accelerate a crisis loan package for the country’s battered
economy are “very active,” a spokesman for the International Monetary Fund
said on Thursday.
Officials are working to conclude the talks “as rapidly as possible,”
Gerry Rice, spokesman for the Washington-based global crisis lender told
reporters.
Rice declined to provide any details on the terms under discussion,
including whether Argentina would seek additional funding beyond the $50
billion, three-year loan approved in June.
“I can’t preempt those discussions,” he said, noting that debt
sustainability is something that will be reviewed.
“The dialogue is very active right now.”
Argentina’s Finance Minister Nicolas Dujovne and his team arrived in
Washington earlier this week to negotiate terms to allow a more rapid
disbursement of IMF funds. The country has received $15 billion so far, but
any changes required approval from the IMF board.
But Dujovne on Wednesday denied he was seeking additional funding, saying
the existing amount “is what is needed.”
President Mauricio Macri is under increasing pressure as the peso has
plunged — despite intervention from the central bank — and the recession
worsens.
And he is facing growing opposition from the public for seeking help from
the IMF, which has a bitter history in the country and is blamed for the
economic woes.
However, Rice stressed, “Argentina is very different today than it was the
last time it engaged with the IMF, and the IMF is a very different
institution.”
BSS/AFP/HR/1018