Russia Expects a Crucial IMF Aid Deal Soon --- Aide to Negotiator Chubais Says Package Will Total $10 Billion to $15 Billion

In an interview, Anatoly Chubais said he expects to reach a preliminary deal with the IMF by tomorrow An aide said that estimates pegging the total package at $10 billion to $15 billion were generally correct, and that the IMF portion would probably amount to about 40% of the final figure. Mr. Chuba...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Wall Street journal. Eastern edition
Main Author By Wall Street Journal staff reporters Matthew Brzezinski, Andrew Higgins and John Bussey
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, N.Y Dow Jones & Company Inc 10.07.1998
EditionEastern edition
Subjects
Bailouts
Bank reserves
Chubais, Anatoly
Civil disobedience
Currency devaluation
Foreign aid
Interest rates
International finance
International organizations
Investments
Russia
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In an interview, Anatoly Chubais said he expects to reach a preliminary deal with the IMF by tomorrow An aide said that estimates pegging the total package at $10 billion to $15 billion were generally correct, and that the IMF portion would probably amount to about 40% of the final figure. Mr. Chubais said he expects the rest to come from private banks and the World Bank, with the private institutions providing the bulk. He described parallel negotiations with the World Bank this week as having been positive. Mr. Chubais said he doesn't expect the country to devalue the ruble, chiefly because international aid would tide Russia over its liquidity crisis. He added that he expects Russia's economy to resume growing in 1999, though few private economists agree with him. Russia last year posted its first growth since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but sank back into decline this year, with GDP contracting by 0.2% in the first six months. Russia is the latest nation to be caught up in the global financial crisis that swept out of Asia last year. The country has been hobbled by a drop in world oil prices (oil and gas are Russia's chief exports), sagging tax receipts, overspending by the government and fleeing foreign investors. To shore up the ruble, the government has jacked up interest rates and bought its currency with dollars held in its foreignexchange reserves. The economy, and the country's financial markets, have nonetheless continued to deteriorate.
ISSN:0099-9660