Friday June 29, 3:32 pm Eastern Time
World Bank readies $1.4 billion for Argentina-Marx
WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) - The World Bank is preparing three loans totaling $1.43 billion for Argentina that will be up for approval in the next month or two, Argentine Finance Secretary Daniel Marx said on Friday.
The loans are part of the $2.5 billion the Bank committed to a $40 billion rescue package put together by the International Monetary Fund in December.
Marx, briefing reporters at the World Bank, said a $330 million loan for the Province of Santa Fe will go to the Bank's board of directors for approval July 19.
That day the board will consider the country assistance strategy for Argentina, which will spell out details of more loans to be disbursed in this year and next.
The biggest of the three loans, which should be ready ``a few weeks later,'' is a $900 million loan to be paid to the Argentine Treasury in three tranches, the first immediately on approval, Marx said. That loan will fund programs that have yet to be determined, a World Bank spokesman said.
Marx said a World Bank mission will visit Argentina in a few days to prepare a third loan aimed at generating employment that will total around $200 million, with disbursement starting this year.
After he spoke with reporters, Marx met with IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler. He was due to meet with the U.S. Treasury Department's top international official, John Taylor, later on Friday before flying back to Buenos Aires.
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