Kiev awaiting IMF decision on new $8 bln arrangement in Jan

MOSCOW. Nov 18 (Interfax) - The IMF Executive Board will make a decision on a new EFF arrangement requested by Ukraine in January, and the initial disbursement will follow in the same month if the arrangement is approved, Ukrainian Parliament Budget Committee head Roksolana Pidlasa said, as reported by Ukrainian media.

"The arrangement offered by the IMF to Ukraine will total about $8 billion within four years. This is less than we expected and less than we need, however, the IMF arrangement is the key to financing by other partners," the media quoted Pidlasa as saying on a social network after meeting with the IMF mission, which started discussing the new arrangement in Kiev on Monday.

She said the sides discussed details of the 2026 state budget, the adoption of which with a deficit coordinated with the IMF is the prior action.

"As to structural benchmarks, the IMF is interested in larger state budget revenue in the first turn, including by stopping tax evasion schemes," Pidlasa said

As reported, the four-year IMF EFF arrangement totaling $15.6 billion is in effect. It was approved in March 2023. As of now, eight disbursements totaling about $10.6 billion have been made. The ninth disbursement of SDR1.117 billion ($1.6 billion at the current exchange range) is scheduled for December.

Initially, the current arrangement envisaged $115-billion external financing of Ukraine with the assistance of foreign partners in the baseline scenario versus $140 billion in the negative scenario. As the crisis dragged on, the indicators were increased to $153 billion and $165 billion, respectively.

While the IMF mission was working in Kiev on September 3-10, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, the National Bank of Ukraine head and the finance minister formally asked the IMF for a new arrangement, preliminary for 2026-2029. The new arrangement is necessary as the crisis continues, and the current EFF arrangement expires in March 2027.

Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko estimated the Ukrainian budget's need for external financing at $45.5 billion in 2026, versus the total amount of required foreign financing during the new four-year IMF arrangement at $150 billion to $170 billion. Unmet demand for foreign financing in 2026-2027 nears $60 billion for now, he said.