IMF mission to arrive in Kyiv on Friday

An IMF mission will arrive in Kyiv on Nov. 4, the epravda.com.ua news site reported on Nov. 2  Recall on Sept. 14, the IMF executive board completed the second review of its Extended Funds Facility (EFF) program with the Ukrainian government and approved a USD 1 bln loan tranche for Ukraine. On Oct. 3, the IMF published a memorandum that outlined the requirements of the third review under the current program that would be started in mid-November. 

Alexander Paraschiy:  It’s difficult to say what is the purpose of this mission. Ukrainian authorities have not even started working on the “To Do” list from the last memorandum. In particular, by the end of September there were two structural benchmarks to be completed, including submission to parliament (but not necessarily approval) of a bill creating an agricultural land market. Instead, the parliament just few days after the memorandum’s release voted to prolong the agri-land moratorium on sales for one more year. To make matters worse, politicians started generating new fiscal proposals after the spending plan was approved in first reading.  In particular, Prime Minister Groysman suggested doubling the minimum wage and extending a special tax regime for agri-producers. So we can hardly expect any positive news coming from this mission in terms of a loan tranche. Most likely, the IMF officials are coming just to get a better understanding what is going on in the country. And perhaps to scold politicians for their populist stunts.