Bulgarian and IMF officials during one of this week's meetings.
A new agreement with the International Monetary fund (IMF) is expected after the upcoming parliamentary elections.
“The IMF plans to sign a new funding agreement with the government which will be appointed after the general elections scheduled for the early summer of 2001,” the IMF team leader for Bulgaria Juha Kaekoenen told reporters on Wednesday.
The IMF mission is in the country for their fifth and final review of the three-year funding agreement with Bulgaria, which ends in mid-2001.
As part of the review, Kaekoenen met with the government’s economic team on Tuesday. After the talks he noted that the business climate in the country was improving, the licensing regimes were relaxing and there were changes in legislation aimed at protecting creditors’ interests.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Petar Zhotev said after the meeting that the economic growth achieved in 2000, together with the target growth included in the government’s development strategy for 2001, would help narrow the difference between income in Bulgaria and that of the EU countries.
He also announced that the government representatives had informed the IMF team about the new strategy for the privatisation of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company. Zhotev said the strategy would be first discussed by the Council of Ministers and then sent to parliament only after being approved by the cabinet.
The IMF team had shown understanding on the issue of the postponed introduction of value added tax on tourism services, according to Deputy Minister of Economy Mariana Asenova. Last year, Bulgaria achieved its highest GDP growth in 10 years and the figures were expected to be just as high this year, said Kaekoenen after his meeting with Finance Minister Muravei Radev on Monday.
Bulgaria experienced a 5.3 per cent GDP growth during the first nine months of 2000, prompting analysts to expect it to top its 4.5 per cent annual growth target for 2000, Reuters reported. Bulgaria exceeded its revised inflation target of around nine per cent last year, posting year-on-year inflation of 11.4 per cent in December after finishing at 6.2 per cent in 1999.
“Inflation was higher than expected. If it persists at those levels it would be a problem,” Kaekoenen said. He advised the government to keep inflation low by means of tighter income and budget policies.
By Wednesday, the preliminary talks had touched on six of the seven topics of the agreement which were on the agenda. They also included discussions of the privatisation deal of Bulgartabak Holding, privatisation in the bank sector and the country’s trade policy.
The final topic, concerning problems in the sphere of energy, was to be discussed at a meeting in the State Agency for Energy and Energy Resources by late this week. According to the agency’s head Ivan Shilyashki, the requirements in the three-year agreement are being fulfilled and the 2000 financial results of the National Electricity Company reveal the good condition of the energy sector.
“The IMF plans to sign a new funding agreement with the government which will be appointed after the general elections scheduled for the early summer of 2001,” the IMF team leader for Bulgaria Juha Kaekoenen told reporters on Wednesday.
The IMF mission is in the country for their fifth and final review of the three-year funding agreement with Bulgaria, which ends in mid-2001.
As part of the review, Kaekoenen met with the government’s economic team on Tuesday. After the talks he noted that the business climate in the country was improving, the licensing regimes were relaxing and there were changes in legislation aimed at protecting creditors’ interests.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Petar Zhotev said after the meeting that the economic growth achieved in 2000, together with the target growth included in the government’s development strategy for 2001, would help narrow the difference between income in Bulgaria and that of the EU countries.
He also announced that the government representatives had informed the IMF team about the new strategy for the privatisation of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company. Zhotev said the strategy would be first discussed by the Council of Ministers and then sent to parliament only after being approved by the cabinet.
The IMF team had shown understanding on the issue of the postponed introduction of value added tax on tourism services, according to Deputy Minister of Economy Mariana Asenova. Last year, Bulgaria achieved its highest GDP growth in 10 years and the figures were expected to be just as high this year, said Kaekoenen after his meeting with Finance Minister Muravei Radev on Monday.
Bulgaria experienced a 5.3 per cent GDP growth during the first nine months of 2000, prompting analysts to expect it to top its 4.5 per cent annual growth target for 2000, Reuters reported. Bulgaria exceeded its revised inflation target of around nine per cent last year, posting year-on-year inflation of 11.4 per cent in December after finishing at 6.2 per cent in 1999.
“Inflation was higher than expected. If it persists at those levels it would be a problem,” Kaekoenen said. He advised the government to keep inflation low by means of tighter income and budget policies.
By Wednesday, the preliminary talks had touched on six of the seven topics of the agreement which were on the agenda. They also included discussions of the privatisation deal of Bulgartabak Holding, privatisation in the bank sector and the country’s trade policy.
The final topic, concerning problems in the sphere of energy, was to be discussed at a meeting in the State Agency for Energy and Energy Resources by late this week. According to the agency’s head Ivan Shilyashki, the requirements in the three-year agreement are being fulfilled and the 2000 financial results of the National Electricity Company reveal the good condition of the energy sector.
