Volume of IMF emergency aid to Ukraine could reach $15-20 bln - Finance Minister
The volume of emergency aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Ukraine could reach $15 billion or even $20 billion, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Shlapak has said.
"I hope tomorrow we will eliminate the last contradiction," he told reporters before a meeting of the Cabinet on March 25.
"I'm convinced we will successfully complete our negotiations with the IMF," he said.
However, he said that the final volume of funding has not been determined: the IMF required additional consultations with other potential donors of Ukraine.
Speaking about the prospects of revising the budget, Shlapak reported that its deficit is expected to remain at the level set by the previous government (UAH 71.6 billion, or 4.8% of GDP), but changes are to be made to its revenues and expenditures.
According to him, there are bills, which if implemented will allow the expansion of budget revenues by UAH 29 billion.
In addition, Shlapak said that it is planned to reduce budget expenditures by UAH 23 billion.
The finance minister explained that the planned changes would eliminate the hidden deficit foreseen by the current budget.
Shlapak noted that in 2014 the projected decline in GDP would be 3%.
"The fall in GDP this year will be 3%," said the official.