Zambia anticipates receiving an additional $145 million from the IMF program extension
Zambia’s finance minister stated on Tuesday that the country intends to get an extra $145 million by extending its International Monetary Fund program by another 12 months.
After accruing a massive debt load, the copper-producing nation in Southern Africa has been working to restore its public finances.
It did not specify how much additional funding it was requesting when it announced last month that it would approach the IMF to extend its loan program, which is set to expire in October. About $1.55 billion has been given to it thus far under the $1.7 billion Extended Credit Facility.
Situmbeko Musokotwane, the finance minister, stated during a press conference that “the IMF program gives the assurance that we are running things prudently.”
“The (additional) financial support we are looking at is about $145 million,” said Musokotwane.
According to him, Zambia would also lose some donor funding that is reliant on an IMF program in place if it were to terminate its program in October.
According to a representative for the IMF, the government’s plan to ask for a 12-month program extension was communicated to the Zambia team, and talks would take place during the upcoming review.
According to LSEG statistics, the price of Zambia’s dollar bonds increased little on Tuesday, with the 2053 maturity up 0.5 cents to 73.25 on the dollar.
