IMF board approves US$1.7B in funding to Jamaica
Published:Thursday | March 2, 2023 | 1:43 PM
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board on Thursday approved Jamaica's request for funding under two of its facilities.
It has approved about US$968 million under Precautionary and liquidity Line arrangement and about US$764 million under the newly created Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
The 24-month programme will provide insurance against risks from higher commodity prices, a global slowdown, tighter-than-envisaged global financial conditions, new COVID outbreaks and in strengthening physical and fiscal resilience to climate change.
Following the executive board's discussion, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the Board, Bo Li, stated: “Jamaica strong track record of building institutions and prioritising macroeconomic stability has aided the post-pandemic recovery. The economy continues its strong recovery from COVID, and inflation is expected to converge to the BOJ target range by end-2023."
He added that international reserves remain at adequate levels and the financial sector remains well capitalised and liquid.
He also said the post-pandemic increase in the primary surplus and the ongoing monetary tightening strike the right balance in response to the external shocks, reducing inflation and securing debt sustainability.
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