IMF approves transfer of 4th installment of Tunisia loan

The Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund announced in a statement issued yesterday, Friday, to have approved the transfer of the fourth tranche of the loan program to Tunisia as part of its economic program, supported by an agreement Fourth year under the Extended Credit Facility (ECM) approved in May 2016. This tranche is $ 250 million out of a total of approximately $ 2.9 billion.

The IMF declared in May that the anchoring of expectations inflation by additional rate hikes would be crucial if price pressures were not moderated quickly. According to officials, inflation is expected to reach about 9% for the first time by the end of the year.

The government forecasts that the budget deficit will fall to 4.9% of gross domestic product in 2018 compared to about 6% in 2017. It aims to change GDP growth from around 2.3% last year to around 3% next year

Recall that the International Monetary Fund validated in May 2016, the $ 2.9 billion in credit to Tunisia. Tunisia has so far obtained $ 320 million as the first tranche, while the remainder of the amount is to be paid in installments depending on the progress of implementation of the defined economic reform program.