Obviously, I was wrong. The good news are used as an opportunity
to sell. The news of the continuation of the interrupted IMF payments
was used as such, and now this. Definitely a very sick market.
MOSCOW, June 28 (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund will
offer a "stabilisation loan" to Russia to be repaid over 10 years at
an annual interest rate of 4.6 percent, Interfax reported Sunday,
citing the IMF.
But Martin Gilman, the IMF's representative in Moscow, refused
to say how much would be loaned to Russia to help it overcome a
financial crisis, Interfax said.
Anatoly Chubais, the Russian official in charge of relations
with the IMF, said last week the country needed a loan of 10-15
billion dollars.
Gilman said the conditions of the loan were the most
advantageous possible, and that an anti-crisis programme presented
by the Russian government last week showed it was "on the right
track."
An IMF mission has been studying the programme since Saturday.
Gilman has warned that the outcome of talks with the IMF over
Moscow's request for a loan would depend on Russia's ability to
enforce the strict economic programme, which calls for deep spending
cuts and sharp revenue increases.
Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, will start
examining the package on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko warned that failure to push it
through would threaten Russia's security and trigger a political
crisis.
The package provides for spending cuts of 42 billion rubles (6.7
billion dollars) by the end of the year, and for revenue increases
of 20 billion rubles. It includes a radical overhaul of the tax
system.
President Boris Yeltsin warned Tuesday that parliament had until
its summer recess, which starts on July 16, to approve the package,
designed to fill a gaping hole in the budget, restore confidence in
financial markets and ease pressure on the ruble.
Communists in the Duma have signalled their opposition to the
measures.
Problems in the Russian economy have been aggravated by the
effects of the financial crisis in Asia and by a heavy fall of the
price of oil, of which Russia is a producer and exporter.
Gilman said Sunday that devaluation of the ruble would not
resolve Russia's budgetary problems. |
