Ethiopia Expects Preliminary Deal On Imf Review: Finance Minister

Ethiopia expects to reach a preliminary agreement on the third review of its 3.4 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund IMF early this week and sees formal debt talks with bondholders starting in summer, State Finance Minister Eyob Tekalign told Reuters.

The East African nation, which struck a four-year, 3.4 billion programme IMF deal last July, is in the midst of a far-reaching reform push, including the flotation of its birr currency and a push to get its debt restructuring over the line.

Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Group spring meetings in Washington, Eyob said he had met IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva as well as other staff to discuss progress on reforms.

They are very much pleased with how the program is going, said Eyob in an interview on Saturday. The results weve seen now were pleasant surprises, because weve over-achieved in many areas, whether its in reserve accumulation, in inflationary trends or in export growth.

Eyob expected the Funds executive board to sign off on the review in June, a step needed to trigger the next payout of the loan programme.