Ukraine's govt endorses drafts of letter of intent, memorandum on economic, financial policy with IMF

MOSCOW. March 17 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government has adopted the drafts of a memorandum on economic and financial policy with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a letter of intent by the government and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to the IMF, Ukrainian media reported, citing a government order dated March 14.

Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko was authorized to sign the letter, the document said.

As reported, the IMF and the Ukrainian authorities in late February reached a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the seventh review of the four-year $15.5-billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). If approved by the IMF Board of Directors, this paves the way for receiving the eighth tranche of around $0.4 billion (SDR0.3 billion), which will bring the total disbursements under the program to $10.1 billion.