São Paulo – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced this Friday (24th) that it has made another loan installment available to Jordan. According to information released by the Fund, US$ 197 million are in standby and Jordan can tap into the funds on an as-needed basis.
The loan was released after the IMF’s sixth review of the agreement with Jordan. The IMF’s staff keeps track of the country’s major economic indicators. This type of stand-by agreement is generally used by middle- and high-income countries, and according to the IMF its purpose is to maintain the balance of payments or cover short-term debt. The interest rate is lower than the one generally applied on the financial market.
The stand-by agreement with Jordan was signed in August 2012, effective for 36 months. On that occasion, the IMF said Jordan would allocate the cash to addressing fiscal and external challenges and to sponsor balanced, inclusive growth.
The deal is worth the equivalent of US$ 1.89 billion, of which roughly US$ 1.5 billion have been used. The total amount may vary because calculations are based on the country’s quota with the IMF, which in turn is determined by a basket of currencies such as the US dollar, the yen and the euro.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
