IMF Signed Loan Agreement with Angola
On Monday, The International Monetary Fund said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Angolan authorities that could lead to the release of $136 million in funding to the African oil producer. The loan agreement first needed the approval of the IMF’s board to disbursement of the next tranche under Angola’s $1.4 billion, Mauro Mecagni, IMF mission chief to Angola said in a statement. To date, some $1.25 billion has been disbursed.
Following a 2009 fiscal and balance of payments crises, there had been “good progress” by Angola in implementing agreed economic measures, Mecagni said. From 2008-2009, the authorities have made progress in clearing substantial contractor arrears In particular. Because of the need to verify claims, plan to clear the places by the end of March 2011 was delayed, he added. “In June, settlement agreements with the remaining suppliers are expected to be completed and the verified payments’ arrears have been largely cleared, “he said.
With higher oil prices and oil production of around 1.7 billion barrels a day, for the rest of the year the outlook for Angola’s economy was “positive.” the authorities were committed to further strengthen foreign exchange reserves and the global environment was still “unusually uncertain”, he said. Mecagni added containing inflation was also a priority.