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[eliaman]

IMF Approves First Funding For Lebanon At $77 Million


“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday it had approved the first IMF finance for Lebanon, backing a $77 million emergency loan to help rebuild the country after last year's conflict with Israel.


Mohsin Khan, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, told a news conference that the loan, issued as emergency post-conflict assistance (EPCA), would be available to Lebanon within the next few days. ‘The EPCA is part of a concerted international effort to provide assistance to Lebanon,’ Khan said, referring to $7.6 billion in aid and loan pledges won by the country at a January Paris donors conference after the 34-day war last July. None of the money pledged in Paris has yet been paid to Lebanon and some of the donors, including the European Commission and World Bank, actually require the involvement of the IMF before they can hand over any funds. As a result, Monday's news removes an important obstacle to the payment of some of the Paris money, which Lebanon is counting on to stay on track with an ambitious 5-year reform program. …” [Reuters/Factiva]


AP writes that “... The approval follows consultation with the Lebanese government, which agreed to a strategy of economic changes with a target of reducing its debt to about 130 percent of annual output within five years. The changes would include reworking the country's budget and selling some government-owned businesses. The government also agreed to push to overhaul its social security system and energy sector.