ARMENIA, IMF STAFF REACH DEAL; MAY GET ACCESS TO $60M OF LOAN

Wall Street Journal
Sept 16 2009

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–The International Monetary Fund announced
Wednesday a staff-level agreement with Armenia on its loan, which would
give the country access to $60 million once the IMF board approves.

The second review on the 28-month standby facility, which was increased
in June to $823 million from $540 million, is expected to go before
the board in late October.

The IMF now expects Armenia’s economy to contract by 15% as the impact
from the global crisis has deepened.

Tax revenues have dropped sharply, with the budget deficit expected
to rise to as much as 7.5% of gross domestic product, the IMF said
in a statement.