IMF to Release $4.7bn to Argentina as Javier Milei Pursues Austerity
According to FT, the IMF has agreed to transmit $4.7Bn to Argentina despite the country’s failure to meet the terms of its $43Bn loan in recent months, offering a crucial lifeline to new libertarian President Javier Milei as he pursues ambitious reforms.
According to FT, the IMF has agreed to transmit $4.7Bn to Argentina despite the country’s failure to meet the terms of its $43Bn loan in recent months, offering a crucial lifeline to new libertarian President Javier Milei as he pursues ambitious reforms.
The money includes a $3.3Bn tranche of the loan that had been due to be disbursed in November, which was delayed by Milei’s inauguration in December, and $1.4Bn that the IMF agreed to disburse ahead of schedule.
Argentina’s hard currency reserves have been virtually wiped out amid its most severe economic crisis in two decades. The government is relying on the IMF’s disbursements to pay the fund back for money lent earlier in the program — which was first launched in 2018 and refinanced in 2022 — with repayments worth more than $2.7Bn coming due by February 1. Entering into arrears would destabilize markets and deepen the crisis.
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