IMF lends 5.4 billions USD to Iraq скачать в хорошем качестве

IMF lends 5.4 billions USD to Iraq

(19 May 2016) The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that it is lending 5.4 billion (b) US dollars over three years to cash-strapped Iraq, which has been hit hard by a sharp drop in oil prices. In exchange, Iraq is being asked to reduce public spending, improve collection of tax and customs revenues and fight corruption and money laundering, according to Christian Josz, head of the IMF mission in Iraq. Josz spoke at a joint news conference in Amman, Jordan, with Iraq's finance minister and head of the central bank. The interest rate for the loan will not exceed 1.5 percent, said bank chief Ali al-Alaq. Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Iraq is also issuing two billion (b) US dollars in international bonds this year. Iraq didn't issue such bonds last year due to high interest rates. Iraq's oil-reliant economy has been knocked hard by plummeting oil prices in international markets. The drop has wreaked havoc on the country's national budget, financed almost entirely by oil revenues. Large-scale land grabs by the extremist Islamic State group since 2014 exacerbated economic decline, forcing the Iraqi government to divert large sums to fighting the militants. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...