An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will visit Chisinau during February 14-28, 2017. The mission will take stock of the recent economic developments and the progress in authorities’ program implementation in the context of the first review of Moldova’s IMF-supported program under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangements.

Ben Kelmanson has replaced Ivanna Vladkova-Hollar as the IMF mission chief for Moldova from January 2017.

Moldova’s three-year IMF program, approved on November 7, 2016, is supported by a loan of SDR 129.4 million (about US$176 million, or 75 percent of the Republic of Moldova’s quota), of which SDR 26 million (about US$35 million) have been already disbursed.

Two thirds of the loan are provided under the Extended Credit Facility, which carries a zero interest rate through 2018, a grace period of 5½ years, and a 10-year maturity. The rest of the loan is provided under the Extended Fund Facility, which carries an annual interest rate equal to the SDR basic rate of charge (currently 1.3 percent), and is repayable over 10 years with a 4½ -year grace period.