The Democratic Republic of Congo has received a $203.3 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves which have fallen to $4.5 billion, covering only two months of imports.
The loan is part of the extended credit facility (ECF) arrangement with the multilateral lender reached in July 2021, which will see DRC get a total of 1.066 special drawing rights (SDRs) or about $1.52 billion by 2024.
The disbursement brings the total amount received under the arrangement to $1.02 billion.
DRC’s forex reserves have been below the desired 4.5 months of import cushion recommended by the seven-nation East African Community (EAC) trading bloc.
IMF had earlier projected that a sustained increase in mining yields could help buffer the economic headwinds the country faces and secure an improved growth in GDP this year, but growth in DRC’s main exports only partly compensates for the increased imports.
“The current account deficit deteriorated to 5.3 percent of GDP, as higher export growth only partially compensated for higher imports and a more deteriorated service account,” IMF said in a statement on Wednesday.
CREDIT: East African
