IMF board to review monitoring program for Ukraine on Dec 19

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) - The International Monetary Fund's Executive Board will review Program Monitoring with Board Involvement (PMB) for Ukraine on December 19, Ukrainian media said, referring to the board calendar posted on the IMF website.

Ukraine has requested a four-month IMF monitoring program. Ukraine expects that in early 2023, it will be possible to move from the PMB towards a standard Extended Fund Facility, which would help cover next year's estimated $38 billion budget deficit and support the balance of payments

IMF mission head Gavin Gray said on November 23 that a staff level agreement had been reached on the PMB.

The PMB will lay out the authorities' policy intentions to support macroeconomic and financial stability and present an assessment of external financing needs for 2023.

"The PMB will help provide an anchor for macroeconomic policies and catalyze donor support," Gray was said following the mission's work in Ukraine on November 11-22.

Ukraine hopes to switch to the standard EFF program with the ability to support the budget and balance of payments in early 2023 after one or two reviews of the non-monetary PMB.