If we get them, of course
The government has approved a bill, according to which foreign loans, borrowed
by the state directly or under state guarantee, are not to exceed $2.558
billion in 1999.
It is planned to use $825.5 million of it to finance the state budget
deficit and pay off the state foreign debt; $520 million to support the
hryvnia; $713.24 million to finance investment and institutional projects;
$500 million to purchase equipment, technologies, goods, and services at
the expense of financial resources attracted through international agreements.
Ukrainian Minister of Finance Ihor Mitiukov said Ukraine is to receive
$520 million from the IMF through the EFF program; $458.2 million to launch
13 investment projects in cooperation with the World Bank, $148.72 million
from the EBRD to launch eight joint projects, $180 million from the European
Union, $80 million from the Japanese government, and $102.7 million from
foreign credit markets.
Meanwhile some projects are assuming more concrete form. February 1
was the deadline for announcing end-use borrowers from the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development to construct an oil terminal in the
Pivdenny port near Odesa and the Odesa - Brody oil pipeline as well as
to install one million gas meters in Dnipropetrovsk oblast. The government
has ordered the relevant ministries and departments to determine such borrowers,
Interfax reports.
By yesterday the Energy Ministry was to transfer to the World Bank a
report on the audit of the Ukrenerho Energy Company and on further implementation
of the plan to rehabilitate hydroelectric power stations. This will make
it possible to negotiate with the World Bank on resuming cooperation within
the framework of its credit line targeted at Ukrainian energy market development.
Moreover, to meet requirements for the second World Bank installment for
financial sector reconstruction (totaling $110 million), the Ministry of
Finance should secure payoff and service of debts to former state banks,
while the State Property Fund is to sell state-owned securities in the
statutory funds of Prominvestbank and Ukrsotsbank.
In order to attract the second installment from the World Bank for enterprise
development (totaling $200 million) the SPF is to complete individual preparation
programs for privatization of three enterprises and also secure establishment
of legal base to regulate paperless (electronic) forms of stock trading
of initial offerings on the market.






