-Caveat Lector- By GREG MYRE MOSCOW (July 29, 1999 6:38 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Awaiting the arrival of a loan from the International Monetary Fund, Russian officials on Thursday expressed hopes that more foreign debt assistance would follow soon and that the anemic economy would receive a boost. By itself, the new IMF loan won't revive Russia's economy, which has been in deep recession most of this decade and is continuing to shrink this year. The IMF's $4.5 billion financial package, with the first disbursement planned within days, is just enough to cover Russia's existing debts to the fund this year and next. The money will simply be shifted from one IMF account to another in Washington, and none of it will actually reach Russia. Still, the IMF's decision Wednesday to approve the loan was a rare piece of encouraging financial news for Russia. It's Russia's first large loan since the country's financial markets imploded last August, and other international lenders, including the World Bank and Japan, are expected to release funds now that the IMF has demonstrated its willingness to resume credits to Moscow. "This will give Russia a breather," said Alexander Livshits, Russia's envoy to the G-8, which includes the world's leading industrialized democracies and Russia. Russia has defaulted on a series of foreign debts in recent months, and says it simply can't afford the roughly $150 billion in foreign debt payments that fall due over the next several years. The IMF loan should lead foreign lenders to restructure Russia's debts, said Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who was to meet Thursday with members of the Paris Club of creditors, which holds about $40 billion of Russian debt dating to the Soviet era. "Now that a program is ready and backed by the IMF and World Bank, creditors have formal grounds to hold official talks with us on restructuring debts," Kasyanov told the ITAR-Tass news agency in the French capital. Russia grew hugely dependent on foreign loans as its economy withered this decade during the messy transition to a market economy. However, international lending ground to a halt after Russia defaulted on debts and devalued its currency last August. The country has repaid some debts and defended the currency by drawing from its Central Bank reserves, which have been steadily dwindling. Central Bank reserves fell from $11.5 billion to $11 billion during the week ending July 23, the bank announced Thursday. No reason was given for the decline, but foreign currency traders said the bank has been intervening regularly to prop up the Russian currency, which is holding steady at 24 to the U.S. dollar. The IMF's first loan installment to Russia will be for $640 million. The fund said it intends to closely monitor Russia's economy, and subsequent disbursements "will depend on completion of quarterly reviews." Russia owes $18 billion to the IMF, making it the fund's largest debtor. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
