Report: IMF’s Main Conditions to Finance Lebanon’s Rescue Plan

Gharbis Eradian, chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa MENA, at the Institute of International Finance IIF, said the IMF may request some “conditions” in order to approve the financing of Lebanon’s rescue plan, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

According to the daily, Eradian said the international lender may request Lebanese authorities to implement some of the terms as follows:

1- Unify the official and parallel exchange rate (of Lebanese pound to the dollar); move to a flexible exchange rate, as is the case in Egypt.

2- Approve some of the decrees and laws presented to the Parliament including the judicial independence law, appointment of EDL’s regulatory authority and the board of directors; and the public procurement law.

3- Close all illegal crossings and combating smuggling.

4 - Impose fines on illegal maritime property.

5- In addition to other technical measures related to quantitative performance standards, which include total cash and credit, international reserves and financial behavior.

Last week, Lebanon signed a request for financial help from the International Monetary Fund, initiating a long process the government hopes will ease the country’s worst post-war economic crisis.

Lebanon is in the thick of its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

In tandem, the government will seek more than $10 billion dollars in financial support on top of $11 billion in grants and loans already pledged by international donors in 2018.

It is unclear how much would come from the IMF.