Finance Ministry expects $4.8 bln of external financing in Nov, $3 bln in Dec – minister
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine expects about $4.8 billion in external financing in November and about $3 billion in December, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
"If it were, let's say, September or October, I would say that the situation we have is quite positive and optimistic. But since December is the last month of the year and, as a rule, December expenses are the highest and above average monthly, therefore, of course now we are looking for every opportunity to get through November and December painlessly, to provide all the necessary expenses and funding for the deficit," he said.
Speaking about the financing of January-March 2023, Marchenko said that the situation is complicated by the fact that at the beginning of the year tax revenues are less, while there are questions about the predictability of foreign assistance.
"But we are working on it, and EUR18 billion (from the EU) has already been announced. Part of it will be used in the first quarter to finance the budget deficit ... There are many issues related to war difficulties. We are solving them. We hope that we will get positive results," the minister said.
As reported, the monthly need to finance the state budget deficit this year due to the war, according to the Ministry of Finance and the government, is about $5 billion. Next year, the government plans to reduce the state budget deficit to $3-4 billion per month (total $38 billion for the year), relying on U.S., IMF and EU funding, as well as raising $17 billion for emergency recovery.